German cops ‘shoot man wielding axe’ near Hamburg fan zone after suspect ‘attacks officers’

CHAOS erupted near a Euro fanzone in Hamburg after a crazed man wielding a pickaxe attacked officers and threatened football fans.

Cops shot the assailant and sealed off the Reeperbahn strip, not far from where thousands of Dutch supporters are gathering to watch their match against Poland.

Chaos erupted at Hamburg's Reeperbahn after cops shot a man with a pickaxeCredit: leon_voskamp / X

Thousands of Dutch fans have been partying along the amusement mile ahead of their first game against PolandCredit: Getty

Police cordoned off an area near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, GermanyCredit: AP

Some 40,000 Dutch fans were peacefully marching along the popular amusement mile around 12.30pm before the attacker began to cause havoc in the middle of crowds.

Witnesses claim they heard four loud bangs as several riot police officers moved in.

Police shot the attacker, who is said to have attacked officers on site with a gold-coloured weapon, Bild reports.

The attacker also had an "incendiary device" on him, Hamburg Police said.

The attacker allegedly had a Molotov cocktail in his bag, according to Bild.

Authorities believe he intended to set it off in the middle of the crowd of supporters.

Cops first used pepper spray before gunning the man down, the German outlet added.

After using pepper spray, one officer fired a warning shot to stop the attacker before several shots were fired until the man finally fell to the ground.

A statement from Hamburg Police on X reads: "There is currently a major police operation in St Pauli.

"According to initial findings, a person threatened police officers with a pickaxe and an incendiary device.

"The officers then used their firearms.

"The attacker was injured and is currently receiving medical treatment."

It comes after shots were fired during Saturday's heated Italy-Albania in Dortmund, leaving a 23-year-old seriously injured.

The man was hit in his leg and arm in the Berlin district of Moabit, as cops armed with submachine guns launched an urgent manhunt for the attacker.

Six shots were fired on Rathenower Strasse, near Turmstrasse, opposite the Tiergraten district court, Bild reports.

The 23-year-old victim, seriously injured by at least one bullet, managed to drag himself to a nearby street before collapsing.

He was rescued by an emergency doctor from the German army and received first aid by paramedics before being taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery.

He was shot in his leg and arm but his injuries are not life-threatening.