Two people were killed and several injured in a knife attack on a regional train from Kiel to Hamburg. A man between the ages of 20 and 30 has been arrested, a police spokeswoman reports on Wednesday evening. There were initial indications that the alleged perpetrator could be mentally disturbed. The German news agency learned this from security circles. According to preliminary findings, the alleged attacker had not previously been identified as an extremist.
“The background is still unclear, as is the identity of the victims,” said the police spokeswoman. The alleged perpetrator attacked the people in the still moving train. According to the spokeswoman, the alleged perpetrator was also injured. There were different reports of the number of people injured – it initially ranged between five and seven. Several media reports also spoke of life-threatening injuries.
A woman from Bad Bramstedt was waiting for her daughter a few meters from the train station. The 18-year-old student came back from the university in Kiel by train. “She saw someone stabbing someone four rows in front of her,” the mother said. She can’t talk to her daughter right now, only write, the visibly moved woman said. The daughter is still waiting to make a statement to the police. The young woman was unharmed. “But I think she’s doing a bad job. What kind of people do that?” said the mother.
Around 3 p.m., the police received several calls from passengers on the train. The train stopped after reporting, after which the events had moved to the platform, according to the spokeswoman. The perpetrator had been arrested there, but she could not say by whom. The man, who suffered minor injuries, was taken to hospital.
According to the federal police, the crime happened shortly before 3 p.m. before the train arrived at Brokstedt station in the Steinburg district. The train station is temporarily closed. Brokstedt is a small community on the railway line between Elmshorn and Neumünster.
‘It’s very bad. We are all completely shocked and appalled that something like this happened,” Schleswig-Holstein’s interior minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack told NDR. The minister received the message in the state parliament and consulted Prime Minister Daniel Günther. She arrived in Brokstedt early in the evening.
Her thoughts are with the families and relatives of the victims and she thanks “the police officers who arrested the perpetrators and all the rescuers who cared for the injured,” according to a statement from her ministry. The federal police and the state police worked closely together. “It is clear to me that the heinous act is directed against all of humanity,” Sütterlin-Waack said in the message.
According to the railways, train traffic between Flensburg and Hamburg and between Kiel and Hamburg was affected. Deutsche Bahn said in the evening: “Our deepest condolences go out to the families of the victims. We wish the injured a speedy and full recovery.” (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
