CHAOS erupted near a Euro fanzone in Hamburg after a crazed axeman 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.
leon_voskamp / XChaos erupted at Hamburg’s Reeperbahn after cops shot a man with a pickaxe[/caption]
GettyThousands of Dutch fans have been partying along the amusement mile ahead of their first game against Poland[/caption]
APPolice cordoned off an area near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany[/caption]
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.
Police fear he intended to set it off in the middle of the crowd of supporters, according to Bild.
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.
On Friday, a crazed knifeman attacked a group of football fans at a Euros garden party before being shot dead by German cops.
The supporters were enjoying their first game against Scotland when the attacker came into their backyard just minutes after kick-off.
Germany has already deployed a huge security operation across the nation after fears of hooliganism and terrorism plague the tournament.
A robust “ring of steel” has been set up around stadiums to secure high profile Euros games made up of thousands of armed cops to shield against potential attacks.
The prolific death cult, ISIS, has hurled out repeated threats against events like the Euros, Champions League and Paris Olympics in recent months.
It has also been revealed that fans who feel “unsafe” or “threatened” during the tournament have been told to say “Panama” to police or staff to get help.
Competition organisers in Gelsenkirchen – where England face Serbia on Sunday – sent out the message on Friday to fans.
Upon hearing the word Panama staff are meant to “immediately offer the possibility of a place to retreat”.
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