In Herne, a city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police officers shot a man dead after he reportedly attacked them with a knife.

German tabloid Bild reported that the man was 51 years old and had harassed his neighbor with a knife that morning. When the police arrived at the scene, he reportedly threw objects out his window at the police cars, breaking the glass.

Police said that after they entered the house to confront the man, he ran at them with a knife. The officers then shot him.

The man received medical attention at the site but they were not able to save his life.

The incident comes just a few days after a man was fatally shot by police officers in nearby Dortmund.

Two other high-profile knife attacks have already occurred this year: a stabbing in Berlin last month and a deadly attack in Bavaria in January.

The spate of attacks has influenced political discourse in Germany, as major political parties used the incidents to promote their tough-on-crime agendas.

At the same time, police violence has increased dramatically.

According to reports, the number of officer-related fatalities in Germany has increased sharply in the past few years.

Edited by: Alex Berry