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08 Sept 2025
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08 Sept 2025
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A man on a long-distance train in southern Germany attacked and slightly injured four people with a hammer before he was detained by police, authorities said.
Police in Straubing said the attack happened on an ICE express train headed to the Austrian capital, Vienna, while it was between Straubing and Plattling in the southern state of Bavaria.
About 500 people were on board when the attack happened, police said.
About 150 police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, police added. The railway line was closed down.
Police initially said the perpetrator used an axe in the attack but later said he allegedly used a hammer and most likely other weapons which they did not name. They identified the man as a 20-year-old Syrian national.
Three of the four injured passengers were also Syrians, a boy of 15 and two men aged 24 and 51. The fourth victim was a 38-year-old passenger whose nationality was not yet known, police said.
All four injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals.
Police did not provide further details on the identity of the attacker or his motive, but later said that he was overpowered by fellow passengers and had also been injured.
The perpetrator “is probably somewhat more seriously injured”, a police spokesperson told German news agency dpa. He was in police custody and receiving medical treatment.
According to the Bavarian Red Cross, the emergency services were alerted at around 2pm local time on Thursday, after passengers pulled the emergency brakes.
The Red Cross said a special care centre was set up nearby to take care of passengers. In addition to numerous rescue services and two helicopters, psychological caregivers were deployed to help those who were not injured but might have been traumatised.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said in a statement that “our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and all those who now have to come to terms with what they have experienced”, and thanked the emergency services for the quick arrest of the suspect.
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