Man shot after knife rampage in Berlin Cathedral

German police say they shot the man in the legs following incident at tourist attraction

A police officer with a gun stands in front of the Berlin Cathedral, in Germany. Photograph: AP Photo/Michael Sohn
A police officer with a gun stands in front of the Berlin Cathedral, in Germany. Photograph: AP Photo/Michael Sohn

German police on Sunday said they had shot and injured a 53-year-old Austrian man who had rampaged with a knife through the Berlin Cathedral. They also said there were no signs the incident was politically motivated.

The dpa news agency quoted police as saying the man appeared to be confused.

Officers reportedly rushed to the scene after a staff member at the Berliner Dom, a major tourist attraction on the historic Museum Island in the German capital, called the emergency services to report a man waving a knife in the area of the altar.

Police in front of the Berliner Cathedral after a shooting at the site. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
Police in front of the Berliner Cathedral after a shooting at the site. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

A policeman shot the knife-wielding man in the legs.

READ SOME MORE

A second officer was inadvertently wounded by the shot or shots fired by his colleague, Berlin police said.

Dpa said that officer was in a serious condition.

Both the suspect and the police officer were taken to hospital for treatment. Some 100 people were at the Dom at the time of the incident, police said.

“There are no indications that the motive was terrorism- or Islamist-related,” police wrote on Twitter. – Reuters, PA