German Federal Police confirmed that several people have been injured during a knife attack on a train on Saturday morning. A number of local media outlets are reporting the arrested suspect is a 27-year-old Syrian man.
A police spokesman said they had received a call at around 9:00am local time of a knife attack on a high-speed Intercity Express (ICE) train between Regensburg and Nuremberg in the southern German state of Bavaria.
The attack is believed to have happened when the ICE train was travelling past Neumarkt, between Regensburg and Nuremberg, and the train was stopped near Seubersdorf. Police arrested a male suspect, and the threat is now believed to be over, according to German state-owned media outlet Deutsche Welle.
“A major mission is underway in Seubersdorf. There is currently no risk to the population. Our operations centre was informed at around 9am that passengers were being attacked on an ICE [train]. A male was arrested shortly afterwards,” Upper Palatinate Police said in a statement.
German tabloid Bild claims that according to its information, three men, aged 26, 39, and 60, were injured, two of them seriously. Die Zeit also claims that according to what it currently knows of the situation, none of those injured is in mortal danger.
Bild had also claimed that according to its information, the suspect was a 27-year-old man of “Arab origin” who has psychological problems who also allegedly called for help on the train.
The major tabloid later updated its article to specify it understands the suspect is a Syrian named Abdalrahman A. who last lived in Passau, a German city on the Austrian border. He allegedly came to Germany in 2014 and had been granted refugee status.
The dpa news agency, according to Die Zeit, and Süddeutsche Zeitung also report that the suspect is allegedly a 27-year-old Syrian.
Police are currently ruling out a terrorist motive.
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