A man has been detained after injuring four people on a high-speed train in southern Germany, police said today, quoted by world agencies. The incident took place in the municipality of Strasskirchen in southern Bavaria, BTA writes.
German police said the attack was carried out with an axe, the Associated Press reported. But DPA reports that several dangerous objects were used in the attack, and the motives for the attack are still unknown. Agence France-Presse specifies that the attacker was carrying an axe and a hammer. Police said the attacker was also injured in the attack, "more seriously" than the others, and was given medical treatment help.
According to “Bild“ in today's attack, the attacker was disarmed by one of the train passengers, who then wounded him with one of his weapons, pointing it at him, reported Agence France-Presse.
A police spokeswoman said the attacker was a 20-year-old man from Syria.
The attack took place on a train connecting Germany with the Austrian capital Vienna. The attack took place while the train was on the section between Straubing and Plattling. There were about 500 passengers on the train. Rail traffic was suspended due to the attack. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.
The German railway company expressed its sympathy for those affected by the attack and their families. “We wish the injured a speedy and full recovery,” a spokesman for the railway company said.
There have been a number of attacks in Germany recently. In May, a woman stabbed more than a dozen people at Hamburg's main train station. In February, a man drove his car into protesters in Munich, killing two and injuring more than 20. In December, a man killed six people and injured more than 200 when he drove his car into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, the Associated Press reported.