Man injures 4 with hammer on German train before arrest: Police

A man on a longdistance train in southern Germany attacked and slightly injured four people with a hammer Thursday before he was detained by police authorities saidPolice in Straubing said the attack happened on an ICE express train headed from the northern Germany city of Hamburg to the Austrian capital of Vienna while it was between Straubing and Plattling in the southern state of BavariaAbout 500 people were on board when the attack happened police said About 150 police officers firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene police added The railway line was closed downPolice initially said the perpetrator used an axe in the attack but later said he allegedly used a hammer and likely other weapons which they did not further nameThey identified the suspect as a 20yearold Syrian nationalThree of the four injured passengers also were Syrians a boy of 15 and two men aged 24 and 51 The fourth victim was a 38yearold passenger whose nationality was not yet known police said All four injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitalsPolice did not provide further details on the identity of the attacker or his motive but later said that he was overpowered by fellow passengers and had also been injuredThe perpetrator is probably somewhat more seriously injured a police spokesperson told German news agency dpa He was in police custody and receiving medical treatmentAccording to the Bavarian Red Cross the emergency services were alerted at around 2 pm local time after passengers pulled the emergency brakes The train came to a halt near the village of Straszligkirchen dpa reportedThe Red Cross said a special care centre was set up nearby to take care of passengers In addition to numerous rescue services and two helicopters psychological caregivers were deployed to help those who were not injured but might have been traumatisedGerman rail operator Deutsche Bahn said in a statement that our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and all those who now have to come to terms with what they have experienced and thanked emergency services for the quick arrest of the suspectGermany has seen several violent attacks in public spaces in recent monthsIn May a woman stabbed and injured more than a dozen people at Hamburgs central station In February a driver ploughed into a demonstration in Munich killing two and injuring more than 20In December a man killed six and injured more than 200 when he drove a car through a Christmas market in MagdeburgThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever