A woman is accused of stabbing 17 people with a knife at Hamburg’s Central Station on Friday, May 23, according to CNN, The New Daily, and The New York Times.
Around 6 p.m. local time, on a crowded train platform, the attacker began randomly stabbing passengers waiting for a long-distance train. According to CNN, the fire department reported that six people were “badly injured,” while seven others were “lightly injured.” It is unclear how many people sustained “life-threatening injuries,” but authorities previously stated that several victims did, according to the outlet.
Police in Germany arrested a 39-year-old German woman, who is thought to have committed the crime alone. According to police, the attack occurred in one of the country’s busiest and most dangerous train stations, which already had a weapons-free zone in place.
According to a statement from Hamburg Police, the attacker “apparently indiscriminately, stabbed passersby, injuring some of them critically,” according to CNN. According to the New York Times, authorities believe the woman was experiencing mental distress. When the authorities arrived, the woman surrendered without resistance.
“The perpetrator is in custody,” Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher told the New York Times. “I wish the victims of the crime much strength and hope that those who are seriously injured will also be able to be saved.”
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s Chancellor, stated that his “thoughts are with the victims and their families.” He also thanked the city’s emergency personnel for their assistance.
Alexander Dobrindt, the Federal Minister of the Interior, echoed Merz’s sentiment. “It is shocking when travelers are attacked in a treacherous and cowardly manner,” Dobrindt told CNN.
Germany has seen an increase in knife crime in recent years. On Monday, May 19, a man was arrested as a suspect in a knife attack that injured five people in Bielefeld, Germany, according to The Washington Post.
In August 2024, a 26-year-old man was charged with killing three people and injuring eight others during a knife attack at the Solingen festival.
According to CBS News, months earlier, in June 2024, a man attacked several people and injured seven in Mannheim.