The knife attacker at the Hamburg train station was an old acquaintance of the police

The 39-year-old woman suspected of the knife attack at the central railway station in the German city of Hamburg on Friday has previously come under the attention of the authorities, DPA reported, quoted by BTA, citing a statement from the local administration today.

According to data from yesterday, a total of 18 people were injured in the attack, and it was reported that four of them are in danger of death. The suspect, who was arrested at the scene, has been charged with 15 counts of attempted manslaughter combined with grievous bodily harm.

The German citizen from the northern state of Lower Saxony has been known to police since 2021, a spokesman for the state's interior ministry said today.

"She has been to police stations several times and has shown clear symptoms of mental illness," the spokesman said.

According to the interior ministry, police opened criminal proceedings on several occasions last year against the woman in question, whose name has not been disclosed.

Following an incident earlier this month, a court ordered her to be committed to a psychiatric clinic. The woman was discharged from there the day before she committed the crime at the Hamburg train station, a spokesman for the health ministry of the state of Lower Saxony announced earlier today.

The suspect had been admitted to a psychiatric facility in the northern German city of Cuxhaven for three weeks. According to the management of the psychiatric clinic, she was discharged because at the time of her discharge there were no grounds for continuing her treatment.

The suspect confessed to her actions before a German judge, DPA reported earlier today, citing a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office.

The authorities are not revealing her diagnosis, citing patient confidentiality and medical secrecy.

Before each discharge, the supervising doctor must assess whether his patient would pose a danger to himself and others without medical supervision, DPA noted.

A judge ordered the suspect to be placed in a psychiatric clinic yesterday.