Three people were killed and five were seriously injured in a knife attack in southern Germany on Friday by a 24-year-old immigrant from Somalia who, according to officials, has been placed in compulsory psychiatric treatment in recent days.
Police stopped and arrested the attacker in the city of Würzburg, shooting him in the thigh. They said his injuries were not life-threatening. “Three were killed and five were seriously injured,” said Regional Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann after arriving at the scene.
This man has lived in Würzburg since 2015, when Germany opened its borders to more than a million migrants and refugees fleeing war and poverty. According to Herrmann, his life was not in danger and he was interrogated by police at the hospital.
“His condition has been noted in recent months, including a tendency to violence, and a few days ago he was placed in compulsory psychiatric treatment,” Herrmann said.
He later told public television that, according to one witness, the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar”, which means “God is great”, before his activities, and is often associated with acts of Islamist terrorism.
“This indicates a possible Islamist motive, and this is also part of the investigation,” he added. According to the Main Post, among the three dead was a boy and one of his parents. As is customary in Germany, the police do not disclose the name of the suspect.
Police said there were no signs that there were other attackers and that the situation was now under control. In videos posted on social networks, it can be seen that a barefoot man with a long knife is driven away by other men with chairs until the police arrive. Another video appeared, which showed blood on the ground. The video corresponded to the claimed location of the attack on and around central Würzburg, Barbarossaplatz, although it was not immediately possible to confirm when it was carried out.
Dozens of police and ambulances can be seen in the Reuters footage from the scene. Würzburg, an ancient city of 130,000 people located about 100 km southeast of Frankfurt, was the site of a knife attack on a 17-year-old asylum seeker’s train from Pakistan five years ago, injuring five people.