The 33-year-old man suspected of stabbing to death two teens and wounding five other passengers on a train in northern Germany was freed from pretrial prison a week ago and had prior convictions, according to officials conducting the investigation.
The suspect, identified as Ibrahim A., a stateless Palestinian who arrived in Germany in 2014, reportedly attacked many individuals aboard a regional train going from Kiel to Hamburg on Wednesday afternoon.
Knife Attack on Train in Northern Germany
According to officials, a 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old male died from their injuries. Two victims remained in critical condition, while two others were seriously hurt. According to authorities, one person had minor injuries.
Other passengers overpowered the man, who was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and is now in police custody, Kiel police said at a news conference. According to Fox News, police and prosecutors said the suspect's criminal history includes convictions for a previous stabbing incident, sexual assault, severe bodily injury, and stealing.
According to the German news agency dpa, he spent a year in pretrial detention for another knife incident in Hamburg before being freed a week ago. Before moving to Kiel, the suspect resided in Hamburg and the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The incident occurred as the train reached the town of Brokstedt, and police and prosecutors were examining possible motivations. Multiple media reports stated that the assailant chased passengers through four separate railway cars and that blood was recovered in four of them.
Other people attempted to protect themselves by hurling their luggage at him. The interior minister of Schleswig-Holstein state, where Brokstedt is located, Sabine Suetterlin-Waack, stated that the parents of the two adolescent victims had been told of their deaths. She said that not all other injured people had been recognized by Thursday lunchtime.
She stated that detectives were under intense pressure to "get all the information." Thursday's session of the state legislature opened with a minute of mourning for the victims of the assault.
Per The Independent, the incident occurred as the train reached the town of Brokstedt, and police and prosecutors were examining potential motivations.
Read Also: US Abrams Tanks Don't Have Secret Armor
Fatal Train Attack Leads to Deaths of 2 Teens
The interior minister of Schleswig-Holstein state, where Brokstedt is located, Sabine Suetterlin-Waack, stated that the parents of the two teen victims had been told of their deaths. She stated that detectives were under intense pressure to "get all the information." Thursday's session of the state legislature opened with a minute of mourning for the victims of the assault.
Juergen Henningsen, a police spokesperson from the adjacent city of Flensburg, stated that two of the victims had died due to the attack, ABC reported. Three persons had severe injuries, while four others sustained minor injuries. No information was provided concerning the victims' identities. According to authorities, the attacker was also hurt and sent to the hospital.
They reported being notified of the incident for the first time before 3 p.m. when numerous people aboard the train made emergency calls. According to the police, the train was stopped, and the assailant was apprehended outside the train.
Sabine Suetterlin-Waack, the interior minister of Schleswig-Holstein, expressed shock at the attack. Deutsche Bahn said on Twitter that the Brokstedt railway station was closed for several hours while police investigated the event and that certain trains between Hamburg and Kiel had been canceled.
Deutsche Bahn offered condolences on Wednesday evening, stating, "Our sincere sympathies go out to the victims' families. We wish the injured a complete and fast recovery."
Related Article : Machete Attack in Spain Church
@YouTube
