Police shoot man with axe before European Championship match in Hamburg

According to German authorities, police shot and injured a man who threatened them with an axe and a Molotov cocktail on Sunday before a 2024 European Championship match in Hamburg.

The incident triggered a “major operation” in the St. Pauli district, the police announced on X (formerly Twitter).

A 39-year-old German has been identified as a suspect, police sources told AFP.

There is no evidence of a connection with the European Championship duel between Poland and the Netherlands, which took place later on Sunday, a police spokesman said.

The attacker “came out of a bar with a pickaxe and a Molotov cocktail and threatened the police,” the spokesman said, adding that the suspect was shot in the leg.

Police also told X that the suspect was injured and was receiving medical treatment.

The incident occurred near Reeperbahn station, more than a kilometer from the city’s official fan zone.

Nevertheless, large parts of Hamburg were teeming with football fans ahead of the match in which the Netherlands beat Poland 2-1.

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