- This story is developing, more to follow
Several people were injured after a man wielding an axe attacked passengers on a busy train in Germany today.
The suspect, who has not been identified, was said to have lashed out at travellers on board the ICE 91 train to Vienna this afternoon at around 1:55pm local time.
The man, believed to be Syrian according to German newspaper Bild’s sources, was alleged to have boarded with an axe and a hammer, before one brazen passenger disarmed him of one of the weapons and fought back.
Passengers reportedly surrounded the suspect and pulled the emergency brake to stop the train near the village of Straßkirchen before police were able to arrest him.
According to the Bavarian Red Cross, one person suffered serious injuries, three others were ‘moderately injured’ and one was ‘slightly injured.’ The suspect was said to have been seriously injured and flown to hospital by helicopter.
The train is understood to have been carrying some 500 passengers at the time.
Police said in a statement that a man ‘injured several people with dangerous objects shortly before Straßkirchen’ this afternoon.
The police statement did not make clear whether the suspect was one of the four injured in the attack.
The suspect, who has not been identified, was said to have lashed out at travellers on board the ICE 91 train to Vienna this afternoon (File image of an ICE train)
Police were joined at the scene by firefighters and other emergency services in ‘large numbers’ (File image of a German police car)
Police were joined at the scene by firefighters and other emergency services in ‘large numbers’, with 150 rescue personnel from medical and fire department reportedly being deployed.
Local media reported that emergency services deployed seven ambulances, two emergency medical vehicles, two rescue helicopters, seven rapid response teams, and the medical operations command.
Following the emergency stop, the 500 passengers onboard were initially cared for outside the train, and are set to receive psychological support.
The railway line is currently closed, police said, with nearby roads also shut down.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said it was ‘appalled’ by the ‘violent attack’ on the train, which had been travelling from Hamburg.
‘Our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and all those who are now coming to terms with what they have experienced,’ a spokesman said.
Germany has seen several violent attacks in public spaces in recent months.
In May, a woman stabbed and injured more than a dozen people at Hamburg’s central station. In February, a driver ploughed into a demonstration in Munich, killing two and injuring more than 20.
In December, a man killed six and injured more than 200 when he drove a car through a Christmas market in Magdeburg.
More to follow
