Police cordon off an area near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany after officers shot and wounded a man who was threatening them with an axe and a firebomb hours before the city hosts a match in the Euro 2024 soccer tournament. (Image: AP Photo)
The man also brandished a Molotov cocktail and was shot in the leg after he ignored requests to put both the items down.
German police said Sunday they shot and wounded a man who was threatening them with an axe and a Molotov cocktail in the northern city of Hamburg, hours before it hosted a match in the European Championship soccer tournament.
Police officers opened fire after the man refused to put down the axe and a Molotov cocktail, hitting him in the leg, police spokesman Thilo Marxsen said. The man was hospitalised with his injuries, Marxsen said. No one else was hurt.
The incident occurred in the St. Pauli area of the northern port city, which was thronged with fans before Sunday’s Group D match between the Netherlands and Poland. Marxsen said that there was no initial indication that it was related to the Euro 2024 game.
German authorities have put police on high alert during the tournament, which began on Friday and runs through July 14, for fear of possible fan violence and extremist attacks.
On Friday, police fatally shot an Afghan man after he killed a compatriot and later wounded three people watching the televised game between Germany and Scotland in a town in eastern Germany. Police said Sunday that the motive for that attack was still unclear.
