The 29-year-old, who had a previous criminal record, went to a police station in the town of Linz, on Saturday morning to beg permission to see his ex-girlfriend in Dattenberg, Germany, despite a restraining order forbidding him to be near her. After repeated exhortations, the man left the station, which serves the Neuwied district in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Police then followed the man as he went a few kilometres away to Dattenberg, despite their refusal.

A skirmish then broke out between the man and authorities in a Dattenberg market. According to police, the man attacked an officer, injuring his head. Another officer fired on the man, and he died shortly thereafter despite the efforts of emergency medical workers. He sustained three gunshot wounds, according to a police statement. The officer suffered lacerations and contusions that were treated by emergency workers, according to senior prosecutor Horst Hund.

When police searched the dead 29-year-old’s apartment, they were surprised to find the corpse of his 33-year-old friend, whose wife had reported him missing on Saturday. According to police investigation, the man had “evidence of extreme trauma” on his head. He had been bound and placed in a full bathtub. A police autopsy showed the man died of drowning.