A man who was allegedly wielding a pickaxe and carrying an incendiary device has been shot by police near a Euro 2024 fan park in Hamburg.
The unnamed suspect was said to have been shot in the leg after he emerged from a kebab shop with a gold-tinted pickaxe and started to threaten those around him.
He was surrounded by officers who used pepper spray and fired a warning shot but witnesses said the suspect was brought down after he sought to run away among the crowds. Witnesses said he also appeared to be carrying a molotov cocktail.
The suspect was said to be a 39 year old man from Buchholz in der Nordheide, south-west of Hamburg, who is known to have received treatment for mental health problems.
A police spokesman said: “At St Pauli [a district in the centre of Hamburg] there is currently a major police operation. According to initial findings, a person threatened police officers with a pickaxe and an incendiary device. The police then used their firearms. The attacker was injured and is currently receiving medical treatment.”
The incident at 12.30pm local time took place close to the Heiligengeistfeld fanzone in the northern German city where around 40,000 Dutch and Polish fans had gathered ahead of the kick-off of the Sunday afternoon game.
Video footage shared on social media showed the man, who was dressed in black and carrying a rucksack, running away from the officers after they deployed pepper spray. A police spokesman said: “According to current information, there is no football connection.”
There is high security around the Euro 2024 game due to concerns over hooliganism and the potential for a terrorist attack. There have been reports in Germany that the group known as Islamic State, or Isis, has been planning an operation at the month-long football tournament which kicked off on Friday and which is expected to attract 2.7m visitors to Germany.
A police spokesman said they believed the man had been acting alone. “The event at Heiligengeistfeld is subject to various security checks and is well protected,” he added.
