German police officers who shot and neutralized a knife-wielding attacker are under investigation for possible criminal offenses after two bystanders were also hit with bullets and hospitalized during the chaos.
Authorities were dispatched to a supermarket in the town of Gummersbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Tuesday afternoon after reports of shoplifting.
A 30-year-old German citizen of Moroccan descent stole several cans of beer from a store in the town center and assaulted a female employee when confronted before fleeing, reported the Focus news outlet, citing the public prosecutor’s office in Cologne.
The suspect was chased down by four police officers and pulled out a knife as a stand-off ensued. According to the police, the man injured one of the officers with a slash to the face before several armed police discharged their firearms, inflicting multiple gunshot wounds to the suspect as horrified bystanders looked on.
Footage from eyewitnesses in a nearby café circulated on social media on Tuesday detailing the moment the suspect was neutralized by the police.