Police shoot knife-wielding assailants on highway
A man's erratic driving on the A7 highway draws attention. He swerves across lanes until his vehicle rolls over. When officers approach to assist, he brandishes a long knife. Even warning shots fail to deter him.
A driver who caused an accident on the A7 near Neumünster and threatened police with a knife was eventually stopped by a shot to the leg. The 55-year-old had been driving erratically across all lanes, "playing the wild boar," a police spokesperson in Schleswig-Holstein said. His vehicle then rolled over and landed on its roof. The behavior was also witnessed by two plainclothes officers who happened to be nearby.
When officers tried to help the driver, he allegedly climbed out of the car window and approached them with a long knife. Officers fired two warning shots, but this did not stop the man. They then shot him in the thigh to prevent him from getting any closer.
The man was taken to a hospital and is not in life-threatening condition. The A7 was temporarily fully closed in the southbound direction between the Neumünster Nord and Neumünster-Mitte exits.
The man's aggressive behavior towards authorities prompted an unusual response from the police. Despite being a member of the European Union, this incident occurred on the A7 highway in Germany.
