Police in Groningen on Sunday are thought to have shot dead a man who was waving two large knives around near the city’s Groninger Museum.

A police spokesman said the man was attempting to stab passersby. When ordered to stand still by police he ran off. After a warning shot had no effect, police began shooting at him.

The man jumped into the nearby canal and was dead when pulled out. Police said there are no suggestions there is any connection to terrorism or jihad.

His body will undergo a post mortem on Monday.