German authorities release details of train knife attack victims

The identities of the two people killed in a stabbing attack on a regional train in Germany were made public by the authorities on Thursday.

Before the start of a state parliament meeting, Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, the interior minister for Schleswig-Holstein, stated that the victims were a 16-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man.

There were seven people injured in the crime on Wednesday, but the public prosecutor’s office in the northern German town of Itzehoe said there were no signs that it had any terrorist undertones.

The alleged offender was hurt as well before being overpowered by witnesses. The two victims, who were from Schleswig-Holstein, were acquainted, according to the police. At the time of the attack on Wednesday afternoon, there were about 120 passengers on the train.

According to the police, the perpetrator was reportedly a 33-year-old Palestinian. He is expected to be brought before a magistrate on Thursday. The accused is no longer under medical treatment, but is in police custody.

The attack took place as the train was travelling south from Kiel, in the far north of Germany, to Hamburg.

Police said the stabbing spree occurred just prior to 3 pm (1400 GMT), before the arrival of the train at Brokstedt station, where the suspect was taken into custody after an altercation.

The suspect was said to have been detained by train passengers before the police arrived. He was moderately injured and taken to hospital.

Of the seven people wounded, three suffered serious injuries, police said.

The background of the crime is still unknown. The alleged perpetrator had previously been detained in a Hamburg correctional institution for an offence of bodily harm, according to the police headquarters in Itzehoe. (dpa/NAN)