On Sunday, German police in Hamburg shot an armed man who posed a threat to the life of a police officer, NDR reported.
In Hamburg ahead of a European football championship game between the Netherlands and Poland, police shot dead a man who tried to injure police officers with a pickaxe and an incendiary device, authorities said. The city is expected to host its first game of the Euro 2024 football tournament.
Police reported the man came from a bar on Silbersackstrasse, St. Pauli district. He had “something like a pickaxe” in his hand and pointed it at police officers in a “threatening” manner. The man also had an incendiary device in his hand. The police officers asked him to put the items down. However, the armed man “continued to create a threatening situation,” according to a police spokesman.
Witnesses said police initially used pepper spray to stop the man, but failed. Afterwards, the officers fired several shots. The attacker was wounded in the leg and is now receiving medical treatment at a hospital, the police spokesman said.
Police said the suspect’s motives remain unclear, but said there was no indication it was football-related. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated on Thursday that authorities are prepared for Islamist attacks and hooliganism-type violence, according to Reuters.
Ahead of the Netherlands’ first appearance at the European Football Championship, thousands of Dutch fans marched through Hamburg on Sunday morning. 40,000 people announced, but nearly 13,000 people gathered, according to Hamburg police.
Germany anticipates 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and about 12 million in outdoor viewing fan zones, including the long lawn laid out in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
