Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin had a narrow escape as the club's team bus was shot at by an unidentified subject ahead of a German Cup match in Bielefeld, in north-west Germany, on Sunday.
Luckily, no one was injured in the shooting, as the players were not in the bus when the firing took place. The driver, Stefan Behrendt, was on the way to the Bielefeld train station at that point to pick up the players and bring them to the Klosterpforte hotel.
And according to the club, Behrendt immediately called the police, after learning of the incident, and safely escorted the team out of the station and brought them to the hotel.
It has been reported that the team bus was overtaken by a motorcyclist, who fired a shot at the windscreen of the bus. His shot however did not penetrate the glass, as it was bullet-proof.
The incident occured after the unidentified shooter overtook the bus, and threatened the driver "with his fist", according to the club website, and following that, he pulled out his gun and fired a shot, before fleeing on the bike.
German newspaper Berliner Zeitung has reported that the police have already started their investigations on the same, and are asking the Hertha Berlin players to be extra cautious, with the security also beefed up.
Michael Preetz, general manager, Hertha Berlin, said: "We are deeply shocked and hope that the perpetrators will be caught. Luckily our bus driver got off with a fright."
"It was one shot but we cannot say what the motivation was," Preetz told German website Sport1 . "The bus driver immediately called the police and now the search is on for the culprit. This was an attack on life and limb and not a trivial matter. It's simply madness."
Hertha Berlin are slated to play German second division side Arminia Bielefeld on Monday in a first-round tie of German Cup.
In another incident earlier this month that shocked the sporting fraternity, the car of former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram was shot at in Karachi in a road rage incident.
