Germany: Man wielding axe in Hamburg shot by police before Euro 2024 match

Police in the northern German city of Hamburg on Sunday shot a man who attempted to attack passersby with a pickaxe, authorities said.

The disturbance took place in the downtown St Pauli district of the city, near where 40,000 Dutch fans were marching, ahead of the Euro 2024 soccer match against Poland later.

Germany's mass-circulation Bild newspaper reported that the man joined the crowd and attacked fans and officials with the pickaxe. 

Police play down any football connection

But police said the man had come out of a pub with the axe in his hand and was waving it at officers in a "threatening manner."

"According to current knowledge, there is no football connection," a police spokesperson told DPA news agency.

Police said the man was also carrying an incendiary device, probably some kind of Molotov cocktail.

The media reports said police used pepper spray against the attacker before deploying a firearm.

Warning shot fired first

One officer fired a warning shot before several other shots were fired and the man fell to the ground, local media said.

The man is being treated for his injuries, police wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Security has already been tightened ahead of Sunday's soccer match with hundreds of Hamburg and federal police officers deployed.

Germany is hosting the month-long tournament that began on Friday night.

On Friday, police in eastern Germany shot dead a man who went on the rampage, stabbing one man to death, before gatecrashing a house party for the Euro 2024 opening match. There he stabbed three other people, two seriously.