Man shot dead during police operation in western Germany

A 42-year-old man was shot dead during a police operation in the western German city of Remscheid on Wednesday evening, authorities said.

According to a joint statement by the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office and police in Hagen, the man had threatened two girls with pepper spray before spraying it towards officers and running away.

Police encountered him again a short time later and used a Taser, but it missed him, the statement said.

The man then threw tools at the officers. One officer opened fire and hit the 42-year-old, according to the statement. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, the man died at the scene. Police in Hagen have taken over the investigation.

Police officers in Germany shot dead fewer people during operations in 2025 than in the previous year.

According to figures compiled by the magazine Bürgerrechte & Polizei/Cilip, published by the Institute for Civil Rights and Public Safety at Berlin's Humboldt University, 17 people were killed in this way last year, down from 25 the year before.

However, the number of deaths was still well above the average for the past 10 years.