Shots in Hamburg
After incident on the Reeperbahn: Motive of the Schieferhammer attacker remains a mystery
A 39-year-old man threatened police officers with a slate hammer and a Molowtov cocktail on Sunday on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn
© Bodo Marks / DPA
A 39-year-old threatened passers-by and police officers near Hamburg’s Reeperbahn with a slate hammer and a Molotov cocktail – the officers shot. What was the man’s motive?
Investigations will continue on Monday after police officers shot a 39-year-old man who threatened with a slate hammer and a Molotov cocktail near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg-St. Pauli. According to police on Sunday, the man may have acted in a state of psychological emergency. There were initially no indications of his motivation. A police spokesman did not want to provide any information about his place of residence on Sunday evening.
Attack on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn: apparently no connection to the European Championship
Shortly before the incident, there was a march with around 13,000 Dutch fans in the St. Pauli district because of the European Championship match between the Netherlands and Poland. However, the march had already ended by the time the operation took place, the police said. There was no indication that the incident was related to the European Football Championship.
According to the police, the man came out of a snack bar on Silbersackstrasse on Sunday afternoon. With a slate hammer and a Molotov cocktail in his hand, he approached passers-by and police officers in a threatening manner. He did not comply with the order to drop both, the police said. Even the use of pepper spray did not stop him. Eventually the officers fired. The man was hit and fell to the ground. He received immediate medical help and was taken to a hospital. Police officers or uninvolved third parties were not injured.
Reeperbahn
Incident in Hamburg: Pictures of the police operation
Schieferhammer attacker in custody
During the incident, some Dutch fans were still in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene. As can be heard in video recordings circulating on social media, they received instructions from the police announced in Dutch over loudspeakers, which were supported by Dutch colleagues because of the fan festival.
According to the police, the man is to be taken into custody. The homicide squad has taken over the investigation. “With regard to the use of firearms by the emergency services, the Internal Investigations Department of the Interior Ministry has taken over the investigations, as is usual in such cases,” it said.