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Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / DPA
A mentally ill man apparently tried to run over three people in an off-road vehicle in Malente in Schleswig-Holstein.
However, those affected were able to save themselves from the alleged attack on Monday.
This was announced by the public prosecutor and the police.
The 37-year-old driver was caught by special forces in his home nearby.
The incident took place on Monday morning on a street on the banks of the Kellersee in Malente, where the suspect's house is also located.
According to witnesses, the man is said to have driven his SUV much too fast.
He steered the car over the sidewalk and tried to run over a group of three people, the investigators said.
According to investigators, a 33-year-old man and his 34-year-old wife went to safety behind a parked car, while a 31-year-old man jumped aside "at the last moment".
Police find weapons
The driver then fled to his house.
The police called in special forces because the man was suspected of having weapons.
The officers arrested the 37-year-old at noon.
He was apparently in a "psychological state of emergency" and was temporarily housed in a specialist clinic, it said.
In the man's house, the investigators found several cutting and stabbing weapons.
According to a preliminary assessment by an expert, the man had a mental illness, the public prosecutor said.
There are urgent indications that his culpability was significantly reduced.
The public prosecutor therefore applied for the accused to be placed in a psychiatric hospital.
Police and prosecutors are now investigating the suspect for attempted manslaughter.
ptz / AFP