German police shoot dead man who sought to attack officers with knife

German police shot dead a Turkish man who sought to attack officers with a knife on January 5 in the city of Gelsenkirchen. The man was reportedly holding a knife behind his back when he struck a patrol car with an object with the motive to assault officers standing by the vehicle.

According to media reports, police warned the attacker but his refusal to stop forced a 23-year-old policeman to open fire at him which eventually lead to his death. Rumours were afloat that the man shouted ‘Allah hu Akbar’ during the attack but the police spokesperson rejected such claims.

Attack near Checkpoint Charlie

On December 30, an individual opened fire in a shop near Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie ahead of the New Year celebrations. According to a local newspaper, the Friedrichstrasse and Kochstrasse intersection near Checkpoint Charlie were cordoned off for police operation.

Berlin Police took to Twitter to inform that an unknown suspect fired several shots in a shop, assuming that it was an attempted robbery in Friedrichstraße, a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin. Police further stated that the situation is under control but didn’t reveal if there has been any casualty.

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Checkpoint Charlie is a major tourist destination, a symbol of Cold War that divided western bloc of capitalist countries from the communist east led by the Soviet Union. Recently, the city administration reached a consensus on the redevelopment plan, clearing the path for a drastic facelift. It will be transformed into a public square with a cold war museum and residential block.

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Senator for Urban Development and Housing, Katrin Lompscher, said that the development appropriate to the particular place could be initiated with broad public participation. She added that the blocking of change has been replaced by binding public planning goals.

“Once the development plan has been established, it is planned to hold competitions for the construction area, in particular for the design of the planned museum,” said the city government in a statement.

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(With inputs from agencies)