Officers had surrounded him after reports of a man acting strangely
They tried to persuade him to drop the knife but he began cutting himself
He was shot when he moved towards an officer who went to stop him
Shocking video footage has emerged of the moment police shot dead a naked man brandishing a knife in a landmark fountain in Berlin today.
The man was shot once after being surrounded by officers at the German capital's Neptune Fountain, close to the city hall.
Police tried to persuade the man to put the knife away but instead he started cutting himself.
Too close: The man was shot as he moved towards one of the policemen who went to try and stop him cutting himself. The policeman had shouted at him to back off
As a policeman climbed into the water to try and stop him, he moved towards the officer and was shot.
The footage appears to show the man walking towards an armed police officer who is heard shouting at him.
A split second later a single shot rings out and the man is seen staggering backwards and falling into the fountain.
Medics and police officers rush to his aid and quickly carried him out of the water.
Though he was treated by waiting paramedics, he died in an ambulance shortly afterwards.
Passers-by had reported that a man was behaving strangely and carrying a long knife in the fountain police spokesman Stefan Redlich said.
He said that the man was shot by that officer after he ignored calls to back off.
A post mortem determined that the man died as a result of being shot through the lung, Martin Steltner, a spokesman for local prosecutors, told the DPA news agency.
Police said the man was believed to be a 31-year-old Berlin resident, but didn't release his identity.
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