A man wielding an ax in a street packed with fans was shot dead by police in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday, just hours before hosting a European Championship match.
A police spokesman said on Sunday the man threatened officers with “a pickaxe and an incendiary device”. When he failed to respond to the warning, he was shot, police said.
They confirmed the man was injured and was receiving medical treatment. No fans or police officers were injured.
The incident occurred in Hamburg’s entertainment district, known as the Reeperbahn, which is filled with restaurants and bars. The area was packed with thousands of fans who had come to watch the Netherlands play Poland on Sunday afternoon.
The man emerged from a diner armed with a small double-edged ax and a Molotov cocktail and threatened nearby police officers, according to a Hamburg police spokesman and a video of the incident posted online.
Standing behind a police barricade with fans watching just steps away, the man dressed in black shouted as he walked toward a group of about a dozen police officers, several of whom fired weapons from either side of the barricade. Point at him. He held a hatchet in one hand and a bottle with a rag stuck in the neck of the other.
As a police officer sprayed pepper spray in the man’s direction, he turned and began running down the street, fans scattering from his path. Police surrounded him a short distance down the narrow street and at least four gunshots rang out.
Police said the man was injured but could not provide further updates on his condition. After the shooting, he was put into an ambulance and taken away.
The scene of the shooting was just a 10-minute walk from the city’s official fan zone, which was packed with thousands of fans, and a short train ride from the 57,000-seat Volksparkstadion, where teams from the Netherlands and Poland will play. Watch the game there.
Several videos of the incident showing gunfire were quickly posted online, a sudden and jarring disruption to the otherwise festive luncheon atmosphere. Within minutes, dozens of police officers gathered around the shooting scene and set up a cordon, with loudspeaker announcements — and the imminent kickoff — clearing the area.
The shooting happened on the third day of the month-long tournament, which brings together the continent’s best 24 teams every four years.
