German police shoot dead knife-yielding Turkish national

Berlin: German police on Sunday shot dead a knife-yielding Turkish national after he tried to attack patrol officers in the city of Gelsenkirchen, local media reported.

The incident occurred at around 7:40 pm (local time) when a 37-year-old man first struck a patrol car with an object and then tried to assail the two police officers standing by the car with a knife, German media reported, citing a spokesperson for Gelsenkirchen police.

Sputnik reported that the attacker was killed with a single gunshot and was heard crying out “Allahu Akbar”.

The authorities have initiated an investigation into the matter. A preliminary screening of the attacker’s identity showed that he had a long record of violent crimes.

The identity of the deceased has not yet been released, though a spokesperson for the Gilsenkirche police said that the man held Turkish citizenship.