Police in Germany armed with submachine guns have launched a manhunt after a man was shot in the capital, Berlin, while watching the European Championship game between Italy and Albania.
The 23-year-old was seriously injured after being hit in the leg while watching the match Rathenower Strasse, near Turmstrasse, opposite the Tiergraten district court in the Moabit district.
A total of six shots are understood to have been fired.
The victim apparently managed to “drag himself” to nearby Perleberger Strasse before collapsing, according to German newspaper BZ Berlin.
An emergency doctor from the German army worked with paramedics to provide first aid before the man, who was hit in the leg and arms, was taken to hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening.
A total of one hundred police officers were deployed to search for the suspect but have not yet traced him.
Witnesses believe the conflict may have been triggered by the football match, in which Italy beat Albania 2-1 in Dortmund.
A Berlin Police spokesman said the man had shot at two young man at about 10pm.
They added: “He is said to have injured one of the men, a 23-year-old, in the arm and leg. Rescue workers took the injured man to a hospital, where he underwent surgery. His 19-year-old companion was uninjured.
“The unknown man then fled. Police officers searched for him in the immediate area, but were unable to find him. Further investigations, including into the background of the crime, are ongoing and have been taken over by a specialist department of Police Directorate 2 (West).”
In a separate, unrelated incident in Wolmirstedt, near Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt on Friday, a 27-year-old man was shot dead by police after stabbing a 23-year-old man to death in an apartment before attacking several more at a party to mark the start of the tournament.
A statement issued by police said the perpetrator had entered private property in a single-family housing development and attacked several people there “with a knife-like object”.
A 50-year-old German woman and a 75-year-old German man were seriously injured, while a 56-year-old German man was slightly injured.
The police spokesman said: “The perpetrator initially fled the scene and was found a short time later by police officers who had been alerted. The perpetrator then allegedly attacked the police with a knife-like object, which is why two police officers used their firearms. The 27-year-old died a short time later in hospital.”
They added: “There is currently no evidence of a religiously motivated crime or any other motivation. Appropriate investigations have been initiated against the police officers involved.
“The investigations are being conducted by the responsible public prosecutor’s office in Magdeburg and the Stendal police station. The investigations are ongoing.”