Knife attack on bus, three critically injured near Eiserfeld

Win. Update, 11:50 p.m.: The city of Siegen has also commented. It has decided “that the city festival will continue as planned on Saturday.” Mayor Steffen Mues spoke to the eyewitnesses on site in Eiserfeld and thanked the first responders, the emergency services and the emergency chaplains. Mues: “This act has left us all absolutely astonished. The apparently confused lone perpetrator has brought unimaginable suffering to completely innocent people who were traveling in the bus.”

The organizers based their decision to continue the city festival on the police’s findings of the situation. “The city festival begins tomorrow as planned at 11 a.m. with the ecumenical service on the square of the Lower Castle,” the city concluded.

Update, 11:17 p.m.: The police say that the woman arrested is a 32-year-old German citizen. Meanwhile, the passengers on the bus who witnessed the crime are being cared for in a hall by the police, fire department and emergency chaplains. The investigation into the background of the crime is ongoing.

Update, 10.45 p.m.: Police sources told the SZ that the 32-year-old perpetrator was known to the police for drug-related offenses. The magazine Spiegel also reported this.

Update, 10.40 p.m.: Stephan Boch, spokesman for the Westfalen-Süd transport company, told the Siegener Zeitung that the driver they employed on the shuttle bus had “reacted with presence of mind”, brought the bus to a stop immediately after the first commotion in the vehicle and opened all the doors. This would have enabled the passengers to quickly escape from the bus. “We train our drivers for such scenarios,” Boch told the SZ. The experienced bus driver may have even been able to prevent something worse from happening.

Update, 10.32pm: The SZ has now been able to speak to a first responder who was driving his car on the “Schränke” at the time of the terrible crime. He saw the bus stop at the side of the road and open the doors. People came out of the bus, some covered in blood. Some fled hysterically into the nearby forest, others screamed for help. A group of young girls managed to escape from the bus. At first it was unclear whether there was actually just one perpetrator or several. Other drivers then looked after the injured and the completely shocked witnesses until rescue workers and police arrived.

Update, 10:14 p.m.: There is now increasing evidence that the arrested woman appeared extremely confused – apparently either heavily intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. She appears to have stabbed her victims indiscriminately with the knife.

Update, 10:07 p.m.: The police headquarters in Dortmund, which is investigating the matter, will be announcing further details of the crime in the course of the evening. Investigators on site are currently busy interviewing witnesses and securing evidence.

Update, 9.49pm: Eyewitnesses report terrible scenes that took place on the bus. A lot of blood was shed. Children and young people also witnessed the incident, in which at least five people were injured, three of them critically.

Update, 9.40pm: District Administrator Andreas Müller has arrived at the scene in Eiserfeld. He told the Siegener Zeitung by telephone that he was “shocked” by the incident – especially because it had apparently affected people who were out celebrating.

Update, 9:23 p.m.: There are initial official details: At around 7:40 p.m., passengers on a shuttle bus to the Siegen city festival were attacked with a knife on the way from Neunkirchen to Siegen for the city festival. The perpetrator is apparently a 32-year-old woman who stabbed passengers on the bus. After the police arrived on the scene, the woman allowed herself to be arrested without resistance. A total of five people were injured, three of them seriously. The bus was occupied by around 40 people at the time of the attack.

There is concrete evidence that the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The police say they have no evidence of a terrorist background. “There is no danger to the public,” they say. Therefore, the city festival in Siegen will continue after consultation with the organizer.

“We ask citizens not to spread false information on social networks or other channels, and especially not to make any reference to a terrorist attack. The police have no information on this,” the police said in a statement.

Siegen: Knife attack in Eiserfeld

Update, 9:17 p.m.: Our SZ reporter reports from Eiserfeld that at least three ambulances with blue lights flashing have left the scene. There appear to be several injured people.

Update, 9.10pm: The police have still not provided any current information about what happened near the “Schränke”. Officially, the Dortmund Police Department has now taken over the investigation.

Update, 9 p.m.: Those responsible for the Siegen city festival are currently also looking into what is happening in Eiserfeld. It is currently unclear to what extent this will affect the ongoing celebrations.

Update, 8.42pm: Emergency chaplains are on site and are primarily looking after the witnesses to the incident. Several ambulances have now arrived. At least one of the vehicles has now left the scene with its blue lights flashing. The situation is still unclear.

Siegen: Police deployed after knife attack in Eiserfeld

First report 8.10pm: Rescue workers and the police were alerted at around 7:50 p.m. on Friday evening. The call was “mass casualty incident.” Apparently at least one person was injured in the area of ​​Freiengründer Strasse, near the “Schränke,” by a knife wound to the neck.

The police have cordoned off the area. The VWS rescue bus has arrived at the scene.

We will continue to report.

SZ