Police shoot ax-wielding man in Euro fan area

A man was shot by police in an area packed with football supporters in Hamburg, Germany, ahead of Poland‘s Euro 2024 game with the Netherlands after threatening an officer with a pick axe, according to the city’s police force.

The Reeperbahn district, which was populated by thousands of Dutch supporters at the time, was cleared by police shortly before 12:30 p.m. CET (6:30 a.m. ET) after the threat.

Riot police entered the area and shot the man responsible in the leg.

“He apparently tried to set fire to this Molotov cocktail and then approached several people including police officers, and the police officers then had to make use of their firearms,” Hamburg police spokesperson Sandra Levgruen said.

“We assume that this is an isolated case, that is, disconnected from football… I don’t see any threat at all or any impact on the game today.”

Levgruen added that the police “still don’t have any insights into the background, including his motivation, which may have led to this, but the investigations will certainly provide that.”

The man is a 39-year-old German, and may have been acting in a state of mental agitation as he emerged from a snack bar brandishing the weapons, police said in a press release. He was hospitalized with his injuries, according to another Hamburg police spokesperson. No one else was hurt, and the police investigation is ongoing.

A heavy police presence has been visible in Hamburg ahead of the game, but both sets of supporters have mixed peacefully ahead of the incident.

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 terrorist attacks.

Information from the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.