Somali kills 3 in ‘brutal’ Germany knife attack
GBNEWS24 DESK//
The 24-year-old suspect staged the attack in the city centre about 5pm, striking at a household goods store, before hitting a bank.
The man, who has lived in Wuerzburg since 2015, was overpowered after police shot him in the thigh, said Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.
The rampage left “three dead, five seriously injured and others injured”, said Herrmann, adding, “it is not certain if the most seriously injured will survive”.
Investigators have found documentation showing the man “was treated in a psychiatric institution”, said Herrmann, but added that he could not detail the length of the stay.
“The police investigation will determine if this was an Islamist act or if it was due to the psychiatric state” of the man, he said.
‘Allah Akbar’
A witness had reportedly said the suspect “shouted Allah Akbar” (God is greatest) during what rescuers described as a “really incredibly brutal” attack, said Herrmann.
“That must all be clarified in further interrogations but we have no further indications on the motivations,” he added.
Police said, however, that the suspect was not a known Islamist.
The mass-circulation daily Bild published a photo of the suspect, showing a dark-skinned man wearing a beige, long-sleeved T-shirt with grey trousers and holding a long knife.
Video footage circulating online also showed passers-by trying to stop the suspect using folded chairs.
A crowd of people gave chase before a police car arrived on the scene, one video showed.
Another photo published by Bild showed a police officer handcuffing the suspect.
A huge police deployment is under way in the city of around 130,000 inhabitants located about 120km west of Frankfurt.
While the perpetrator’s motive has not yet been established, Germany has been on high alert after several deadly Islamist extremist attacks.
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