Afghan Refugee Uses Axe To Attack And Injure Over 20 People On Train In Germany


Media reports have stated that more than 20 people on a train in Germany have been injured after a man wielding an axe went on a rampage. The suspect in the rampage is said to have been a refugee and was shot and killed by the police, which brought an end to his axe attacks.

According to BBC News, a police operation is now being carried out along the train line between Wurzburg-Heidingsfeld and Ochsenfurt. The base of the operations, which includes helicopter presence, has been set up at a train station in Heidingsfeld, which is a part of the city of Wurzburg in southern Germany and is where the attack with the axe took place. Armed police officers were also brought into the area in droves after the reports of the vicious and bloody attacks came in.

Local media tweeted in German about the axe attack soon after it happened, which was about 21:15 (19:15 GMT). The train runs between Treuchlingen and Wuerzburg. The man is said to have had both an axe and a knife on him during the attack and made use of both during his rampage on the passengers of the train.

Originally reports regarding the suspect said that the man had been shot and injured by the police as he attempted to flee the scene. However, Mirror has since cleared up the conflicting reports with a news piece which states that the police have confirmed that the axe wielding man has been shot and killed by the police and this is what brought an end to his vicious rampage on the train in Germany. He was killed when he attempted to turn his axe on the police who arrived at the scene to stop him.

The attacker is stated to have been a 17-year-old Afghan man who was a refugee and he has left at least three persons with life threatening injuries. While there has been no official motive established for the attack according to the Bavarian Interior Ministry the Afghan refugee in Germany shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great” in Arabic), before he began carrying out the bloody attack. The police are still declining to comment on whether or not the attack was terrorist motivated.

The train line has been closed while the authorities scour for clues and emergency personnel were brought in to provide aid to the victims.

Of the over 20 persons who were reportedly injured when the man boarded the train and began his attack, at least four passengers are directly injured this evening with another 14 persons being treated for shock. Police officers in the Germany city are scouring the closed train line in the hopes of obtaining evidence in the case.

Europe has has been on high alert for terrorist activity for quite a long time but since last week’s attack in Nice the when a terrorist killed over 80 people by driving a massive lorry into a crowd the tensions have been more palpable. The man responsible was identified as Mohamed Louhouaiej Bouhlel and he zigzagged along the Promenade des Anglais mowing down terrified pedestrians during a gathering of thousands of people in Nice last Thursday.

Also back in May, a man who reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar” before his attack, killed one person and wounded three others with a knife at a railway station near the German city of Munich. In that case the man was taken into custody and brought to a psychiatric facility and authorities later established that he had no links to extremism of any kind.

Much of Europe is currently on major alert due to the threat of terrorist activity and many traditional holiday hotspots have been declared as “high risk” by the Foreign Office.

[Photo by Leo Correa/ AP Images]

Share this article: Afghan Refugee Uses Axe To Attack And Injure Over 20 People On Train In Germany
More from Inquisitr