Albanian man threatens German police with machete

By AFP
September 07, 2024
A representational image showing a police officer standing guard in southwestern Germany on January 31, 2022. — Reuters
A representational image showing a police officer standing guard in southwestern Germany on January 31, 2022. — Reuters

BERLIN: A 29-year-old Albanian man carrying a machete attacked a German police station on Friday, with investigators probing a possible “radical Islamist motive”.

The attacker entered the station in the western town of Linz am Rhein at 2:40 am local time (0040 GMT), Koblenz prosecutors said in a statement.

The man shouted “Allahu Akbar” and said he wanted to “kill police officers”, prosecutors said.

Officers on site locked the entrance door and a door leading to the inner courtyard of the police station, leaving the man trapped.

Special forces were alerted to the situation and neutralised the attacker using a taser. Initial enquiries revealed “evidence of a Islamist motive”, prosecutors said.