German police have “severely injured” a man armed with an axe in the centre of Hamburg. The latest reports suggest that the perpetrator suffered from gunshot wounds to the leg.
Ahead of their EURO2024 opener against Poland at 14:00 BST [15:00 CEST], approximately 40,000 Dutch fans had congregated in the Reeperbahn area of the city. Initial reports suggest that the perpetrator “had come out of a restaurant with a pickaxe and a Molotov cocktail and threatened the emergency services.”
Embed from Getty ImagesPolice first tried to incapacitate the attacker with pepper spray, before four shots were reportedly fired at around 12:30 local time. Fans have been moved away from the area and the perpetrator has been taken away in an ambulance.
The local police have now been joined by the federal police. In a statement shared on X, the local police confirmed that they are “currently assuming that there was a lone perpetrator” and do not believe that the Poland v Netherlands match was motivation for the attack.
BILD sources understand that the man is a 39-year-old man from Buchholz, who is suffering with schizophrenia.
Last updated: 16:13 BST [17:13 CEST]
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