German police shoot to death an Afghan man who killed a compatriot, then attacked soccer fans

Berlin: German police shot and killed an Afghan man after he fatally stabbed a compatriot and injured three others while watching the televised first game of the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in eastern Germany, authorities said on Saturday. 

The 27-year-old Afghan citizen first attacked a 23-year-old compatriot with a “knife-like object” in Wolmirstedt, a small town about 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of Berlin, on Friday evening, police said. The victim later died of his wounds.

The attacker later assaulted a group of people watching the Germany-Scotland football match in the garden of a private home, wounding three German men, two of whom were critically injured, police said.

According to police, the offender, who was still armed with the same instrument, attacked cops who arrived at the site. Two of the cops fired and injured the man, who died shortly after in a hospital.

Police said the motive for the attacks was unclear. The Interior Ministry in Saxony-Anhalt state, which includes Wolmirstedt, said police had increased their presence across the state. The soccer tournament is taking place in cities across Germany and runs through July 14. AP