By Matt Strudwick and Ian Herbert In Hamburg
12:02 16 Jun 2024, updated 12:48 16 Jun 2024
German police have today shot an axeman near a Euros fan zone during a Dutch supporters march in Hamburg.
Thousands of Dutch supporters were taking part in a peaceful march when a man began to allegedly threaten an officer with a gold-coloured ‘double-headed axe’ and an ‘incendiary device’.
Four loud bangs rang out close to the Reeperbahn, in Hamburg, at around 12.30pm local time where Netherlands supporters were gathering ahead of today’s game.
Riot police swooped in and sealed off the area and tried using pepper spray to disarm him before an officer fired a warning shot.
Officers then shot the axeman and he fell to the ground.
The Netherlands are playing Poland in the city later today.
Polizei Hamburg said he is currently receiving medical treatment.
The force wrote on X/ Twitter: ‘At #StPauli there is currently a major police operation.
‘According to initial findings, a person threatened police officers with a pickaxe and an incendiary device. The police then used their firearms. The attacker was injured and is currently receiving medical treatment.’
The incident came after a thousands of German officer policed the tens of thousands of Dutch fans, who turned Hamburg’s Reeperbahn red light district into a sea of orange on Saturday night.
The night seemed to pass off without incident, with few Poles present and little sign of the Dutch becoming aggressive.
British police said before the tournament that the reputation of the national team’s fans was far better than the club fans who have brought carnage to club competition.
Pictures on social media had earlier shown thousands of Netherlands supporters in the city enjoying the build-up to the Group D game, which is scheduled to kick off at 2pm BST.
The game is taking place at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion, with the city’s fan park situated in the St Pauli district.