Local police shot and injured a man in Hamburg, Germany after he attacked an officer with an ax and an incendiary device shortly before the Netherlands faced Poland in the city for their first match at Euro 2024.
"At St. Pauli, there is currently a major police operation," a statement from the Hamburg Police read, per ESPN. "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."
Riot police arrived on the scene. The attacker was pepper-sprayed and shot four times, per The Athletic, including in his leg.
No other people were reported to be injured in the incident, and there's no indication that the attack was related to the soccer match. It is also not clear if the attacker was a soccer fan. The game's start time was not impacted due to he incident.
The attack happened in the Reeperbahn district, an area roughly five miles from Volksparkstadion and was populated with Dutch fans pre-match. The area was cleared by police shortly before 12:30 p.m. local time, less than three hours before kickoff.
Even before the incident, Germany increased its security presence around Euro 2024 with 2.7 million fans expected to attend games across 10 stadiums and an additional 12 million spectators expected at the official tournament fan zones.
