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Knife attack in the ICE: Large-scale operation of the police in Seubersdorf
Photo: Fabian Schreiner / picture alliance / dpa / Fabian Schreiner
After a knife attack in an ICE in the Upper Palatinate, the investigative authorities are currently not assuming a terrorist attack.
SPIEGEL learned this from security circles.
A spokesman for the police only said on request that the background to the crime was unclear.
On the morning of the journey between Nuremberg and Regensburg, a 27-year-old man seriously injured three passengers with a knife.
He was arrested on suspicion of homicide.
"The attack was potentially fatal," said the police spokesman.
He did not provide any information on the course of the act.
The victims are three men from the Regensburg area and the Passau area.
They were admitted to hospitals.
The injuries are "not life-threatening."
Suspect has refugee status
According to SPIEGEL information, the attacker has not yet made a statement.
It is therefore Abdalrahman A. from Passau, a recognized refugee.
His nationality is officially unclear.
When he entered Germany in October 2014, he stated that he came from Syria.
Two years later he was granted refugee status.
His current residence permit is valid until May next year.
According to the "Bild" newspaper, Abdalrahman A. is said to have had psychological problems.
The police spokesman did not want to give any information.
There is no longer any danger to the population.
It is assumed that there are no accomplices.
The police in Regensburg received the emergency call at around 9 a.m.
The ICE, on the way from Passau to Hamburg, stopped after the fact in the Seubersdorf train station in Upper Palatinate.
The police arrived with a large contingent;
the 200 to 300 passengers were taken off the train and looked after by the Red Cross.
The investigation is led by the Nuremberg / Fürth public prosecutor's office.
At the moment, officials from the Regensburg criminal inspection are securing traces on site and questioning witnesses.
The rail traffic has meanwhile been diverted via Ingolstadt, many trains on the route were delayed.
Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) was appalled.
"The cruel knife attack in the ICE is terrible," quoted Ministry spokesman Steve Alter on Twitter.
Seehofer hoped that the injured and eyewitnesses would recover quickly and completely.
At the same time, according to the tweet, he thanked the police forces and the train crew "for their brave efforts."
The background of the act would now have to be clarified.
"Only then is an assessment possible." Seehofer is in office until a new government is formed.
rol / sms / dpa