In Germany, police shot dead an Afghan man who had stabbed a police officer and attacked football fans

German police have shot dead an Afghan man who fatally attacked a police officer and then injured three people who were watching a television broadcast of the opening match of the 2024 European Football Championship in eastern Germany, AP reported, citing local police.

According to police reports, on Friday evening a 27-year-old Afghan attacked a 23-year-old police officer with a “knife-like object” in Wolmirstedt, a small town about 130 kilometers west of Berlin. The victim later succumbed to his injuries.

Later, a man attacked a group of people watching a football match between Germany and Scotland in the courtyard of a private house, leaving three Germans injured, two of them seriously, police said.

According to police, the attacker, who was still armed with the same object, also attacked the police officers who arrived at the scene. Two police officers shot and injured the man, who died shortly afterwards in hospital.

The suspect’s motives for the attacks are unclear, police said. The Interior Ministry of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, to which Wolmierstedt belongs, said police had increased their presence across the state.

The European Football Championship will be held in cities across Germany and will last until July 14th.