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.

As a policeman climbed into the water to try and stop him, he moved towards the officer and was shot.

Though he was treated by waiting paramedics, he died in an ambulance shortly afterwards.

Police said the man was believed to be a 31-year-old Berlin resident, but didn’t release his identity.