Naked knife-wielding man shot dead by police at landmark fountain in Berlin
Police in Berlin shot a naked man dead after he brandished a knife at officers in an iconic fountain in the German capital on Friday.
A video of the incident has been posted on YouTube and shows the moment the man was surrounded by police and shot in the Neptune Fountain, near the city hall.
According to the Daily Mail, officers tried to persuade the man to put the knife away, but he started cutting himself.
One policeman climbed into the fountain to try to stop him but the man advanced on the officer with the knife, police spokesman Stefan Redlich said.
The Huffington Post reports that when he ignored orders to back off, the man was shot. Medics and police officers rushed to his aid and carried him out of the water, but he died in an ambulance shortly afterward.
Martin Steltner, a spokesman for local prosecutors said a post mortem determined that he died as a result of being shot through the lung.
Passers-by had reported on Friday morning that a man was behaving strangely and carrying a long knife in the fountain.
Police said the man was a 31-year-old Berlin resident but did not release his name.
Related articles
Spanish police shoot at British jet skier in Gibraltar
Murder suspect arrested at Birmingham Airport after flight from Thailand
Flesh-eating seagulls to be shot by police
