Wangen in the Allgäu
After knife attack: four-year-old “over the mountain”
A four-year-old girl was attacked with a knife in a supermarket in Wangen. photo
© David Pichler/dpa
A four-year-old is seriously injured with a knife in a supermarket. The suspected attacker is taken to a psychiatric hospital. The search for the motive continues.
After the knife attack on a girl in a supermarket Wangen im Allgäu, the four-year-old is on the mend. She is out of the woods, said a police spokeswoman. The murder weapon was a kitchen knife that was seized after the attack.
The 34-year-old suspect was taken to a psychiatric hospital for attempted murder in conjunction with grievous bodily harm, the police and public prosecutor’s office said. A judge at the Ravensburg district court issued a detention order. The alleged perpetrator allowed himself to be arrested without resistance. His relationship to Wangen is still under investigation.
The man, who has Syrian and Dutch citizenship, is suspected of having attacked the girl in the supermarket with a knife and seriously injured her. According to police, it was a sudden attack. According to investigators, the child was taken to a clinic with serious injuries after the knife attack and was operated on. According to police, the injuries were not life-threatening.
The perpetrator and victim did not know each other
According to a spokeswoman, the alleged perpetrator and the victim did not know each other. There is no evidence of a previous relationship. The four-year-old was in the discount store with her mother on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the information, a customer in the supermarket noticed what was happening, took the knife from the attacker and called the officers. The 52-year-old was not injured. “The witness called the police and told us where the man was. That’s how my colleagues were able to arrest him,” said the police spokeswoman.
Wangen’s mayor Michael Lang (independent) described the helper’s reaction as great. He deserves an award for it at some point, said Lang. The city was shocked by the incident.
According to the police, the case is now being investigated further. Witnesses should be questioned and traces evaluated. The motive and background to the crime are still unknown. The suspect initially did not comment on the allegations.