After the knife attack on the ICE Passau-Hamburg, the background to the crime is still completely unclear. It is known so far that the attacker stabbed fellow passengers in the ICE 928 completely suddenly and indiscriminately. According to the authorities, the Suspects – a 27-year-old who previously lived in Syria and came to Germany in 2014 – lost his job the day before. The investigators are currently ruling out a terrorist background. The man was evidently not guilty at the time of the crime.
As the police announced at a press conference on Sunday, the perpetrator injured four men. Shortly after Regensburg, he suddenly attacked a 26-year-old man in car 4 and seriously injured his head, said Police Vice President Thomas Schöniger in Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate. Afterwards he had cut wounds to the head and torso of a 60-year-old passenger and injuries to another 60-year-old. Then he switched to car 4 and stabbed a 39-year-old in the body.
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After the train stopped in Seubersdorf, patrol officers got on the train and directed the alleged suspect to the ground using firearms. He then allowed himself to be arrested without resistance. In his pants he had a blood-smeared eight centimeter long jackknife. The two younger victims were still in the hospital on Sunday afternoon, said Schöniger.
Prosecutor Gerhard Neuhof said a psychiatric expert examined the attacker on Saturday. The attacker said he felt “being followed” by the police, for example. He had the feeling that the first victim wanted to kill him. The expert had come to the conclusion that the perpetrator was not at fault at the time of the crime. A judge had issued a placement order against the accused about half an hour ago.
To the motive there were still no reliable findings on Sunday morning. Detective Director Sabine Nagel said that in 2020 the suspect had been noticed by the police with a “minor fraud”. The day before the crime, he lost his job. In 2015 he applied for asylum, which was recognized in 2016. Since then he has had a residence permit.
The previous searches and investigations had “no clues” for other perpetrators or confidants, said Nagel. There is also no evidence that the attacker planned his act. The representatives of the authorities did not want to disclose any details about further investigations in Passau and also in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) said on Saturday: “The police are working flat out to clarify the background of the terrible act and the motives of the perpetrator as quickly as possible.”
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Shortly after 9 a.m. on Saturday, emergency calls were received by the police and emergency services. The ICE stopped halfway between Regensburg and Nuremberg at the small Seubersdorf train station near Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate. Because the situation was initially completely unclear, the police moved in with a large contingent and evacuated the train.
“A knife stabber! Run back to the end of the train! “
According to the Red Cross, around 200 passengers were looked after and catered for in an inn until late afternoon. The ICE route between Regensburg and Nuremberg was only released again in the evening.
Suddenly the door of the compartment was thrown open and there was an almost panic-like escape to the rear of the train, reported a 77-year-old passenger who was sitting in a different car at the time of the attack. “A knife stabber! Run back to the end of the train! ”Was called out. Then he waited, but thank God nothing happened. He wasn’t afraid.
According to a report in the “Mittelbayerische Zeitung” a woman tried to defend herself against the attacker with hairspray, a train driver opposed the knife with a fire extinguisher.
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The Bavarian Red Cross cared for the three seriously injured people on site and transported them to clinics. Previously, doctors who were among the passengers had given first aid on the train, as passengers reported. “Everyone was shocked somewhere. One more, the other less, ”said a 68-year-old passenger. Very few would have noticed the attack directly.
Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) expressed his horror and called for prudence. An evaluation is only possible after clarification of the background. (Tsp, dpa, AFP)