According to the police, the perpetrator injured four men in the knife attack on the ICE Passau-Nürnberg. Initially, there was only talk of three victims. The man suddenly attacked a 26-year-old man in car 4 shortly after Regensburg and seriously injured the head, said Police Vice President Thomas Schöniger on Sunday at a press conference in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. 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.
The attacker is said to have stabbed fellow travelers completely suddenly and indiscriminately. According to preliminary information from security circles on Sunday, the attack was not preceded by a dispute. According to the information, the suspect is said to have recently lost his job. According to an initial assessment, the attacker may have suffered from mental health problems and delusions.
After the train stopped in Seubersdorf, patrol officers got on the train and directed the alleged suspect to the ground with firearms, said Police Vice President Schöniger. He then allowed himself to be arrested without resistance. He had a blood-smeared jackknife in his pants. The two younger victims were still in the hospital on Sunday lunchtime.
One day after the knife attack in the ICE 928, the police have not yet been able to determine the motive for the crime. “The suspect’s motives are still unclear,” said Police President Norbert Zink. However, initial assessments indicated a psychological impairment. The investigators are currently not assuming a terrorist attack. There are “no indications of an Islamist background,” said criminal director Sabine Nagel. According to initial findings, no indications of possible accomplices or confidants have appeared so far.
The suspect, a 27-year-old, was arrested very quickly by the emergency services. Zink also thanked travelers “who tried to prevent the suspect from further actions”. A folding knife with a blade length of eight centimeters was seized as the murder weapon.
Rescue workers stand in front of a restaurant in which the train travelers were briefly accommodated.
(Photo: dpa)
According to information from the German Press Agency, the alleged perpetrator used to live in Syria, he is said to have been in Germany since 2014 and most recently lived in Passau. In Passau there was a major police operation on Saturday afternoon, as a spokesman for the Upper Palatinate police headquarters said. At first, he did not confirm a connection with the bloody act on the ICE.
The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) said: “The police are working flat out to clear up the background of the terrible act and the motives of the perpetrator as quickly as possible.” According to the police, there is no evidence of other perpetrators. The Regensburg criminal investigation agency and the Nuremberg-Fürth public prosecutor’s office are investigating.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, 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.
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 on Saturday evening. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) expressed his horror and called for prudence. An evaluation is only possible after clarification of the background.