German police have today shot an axeman near a Euros fan zone during a Dutch supporters march in Hamburg.
Around 40,000 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, 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. Hamburg police confirmed that a Dutch fan had been shot.
The Netherlands are playing Poland in the city later today.
Police cordon off an area near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg after a man allegedly began threatening an officer with an axe
German police have today shot an axeman near a Euros fan zone during a Dutch supporters march
Four loud bangs rang out close to the Reeperbahn, in Hamburg, where Netherlands and Polish supporters were gathering ahead of today’s game
Around 40,000 Dutch supporters were taking part in a peaceful march when a man wielding a gold-coloured axe began to attack an officer
Netherland fans are pictured during their Fan Walk at the official UEFA Fan Zone
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.
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