Knifeman who killed two on German train ‘slit a woman’s throat and stalked passengers through carriages before brave traveller hurled a suitcase at him and others tackled him on railway platform’
- Two people were killed and seven more were injured in the violent attack
- The attacker sparked chaos as he lunged at train passengers with a knife
Witnesses of a stabbing rampage on a train in Germany yesterday described how the attacker pursued his victims indiscriminately before a brave traveller hurled a suitcase at him.
Two people were killed and seven more were wounded in the attack on the train, with 120 on board, travelling from Kiel to Hamburg at around 3pm on Wednesday.
The attacker sparked chaos as he lunged at terrified passengers and slit a woman’s throat in the fatal bloodbath.
Commuters scrambled through carriages to flee the onslaught before heroic passengers and police managed to stop the knifeman.
Morticians carry a body from the train near the city of Neumunster, Germany, on Wednesday night
Investigators in white protective suits work in the train after the attack in northern Germany
Forensic police secure evidence at the train station in Brokstedt, northern Germany, January 25, 2023
Christian Götzner, a 61-year-old entrepreneur on the train, told German newspaper Bild: ‘I was scared to death.
‘He first raged in the other train compartment, then he appeared at our place, raised the knife. A traveller threw a suitcase at him.’
The train then stopped in the town of Brokstedt where the bloody attack continued onto the platform.
Police were alerted and they arrived on the scene to tackle the man to the ground.
The assailant was identified as Ibrahim A., a 33-year-old stateless Palestinian man from the Gaza Strip. According to officials, he arrived in Germany as a refugee in 2014.
According to BILD, he had been incarcerated until only a few days ago. He is understood to have come into contact with German law some 12 times since his arrival in the country, including for physical harm, misuse of check cards, and sexual assault.
Following the incident, there was a large-scale emergency operation at the scene, with nine ambulances, three emergency and rescue helicopter all at the station to treat the passengers.
Emergency services work at Brokstedt station in Brockstedt, Germany, Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Police and rescue services are on duty at a level crossing near Brokstedt station in Brockstedt, Germany, January 25, 2023
Police closed the station and forensic teams were seen working at the scene.
A police spokesman yesterday said the investigation into a motive was focused on ‘all directions’. They added that would consider possible extremism or psychological problems on the part of the assailant.
Three of the seven injured passengers are in a serious condition, with the other four treated for minor injuries.
The attacker was also injured and taken to hospital.
Regional interior minister Sabine Suetterlin-Waack condemned the attack as a ‘horrible act against all humanity’.
‘It is terrible,’ she told German public broadcaster NDR yesterday. ‘We are shocked and horrified that something like this has happened.
‘For me it is clear that the horrible act is against all humanity,’ the interior minister said, adding her ‘thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims’.
Firefighters of a local fire department clean the platform at the train station in Brokstedt, northern Germany after the attack, January 25, 2023
Forensic staff photographs evidence on the platform of the train station in Brokstedt, northern Germany, January 25, 2023
About 70 of the passengers were questioned by police in a nearby restaurant.
A bakery located a few metres away from the station served hot drinks and baked goods to rescue workers and passengers, dpa reported.
The train station in Brokstedt was closed for several hours and train traffic was delayed across northern Germany.
Train operator Deutsche Bahn expressed its condolences on Wednesday evening, saying that ‘our deepest sympathy goes to the relatives of the victims. We wish those injured a speedy and complete recovery’.
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