Another knife attack in Germany: Woman injures five people on a bus in Siegen – arrest

Five people were injured in a knife attack on a bus in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia – three of them critically. A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested, police said. “There is currently no further danger.” There is no indication of a terrorist background.

According to the police, there were at least 40 other passengers on the bus. The bus was being used as a special service to take passengers to a city festival in Siegen. The knife attack took place at around 7:40 p.m. Several passengers alerted the police, and officers arrested the German suspect.

Bus driver reacted quickly

The background to the crime and the exact sequence of events were initially unclear. “We are securing evidence at the crime scene and questioning witnesses,” said a spokesman for the Dortmund police. The 32-year-old is known to the police. According to dpa information, there are indications that the woman is mentally ill.

A spokesman for the Westfalen-Süd transport company told the Siegener Zeitung that the bus driver had reacted quickly, stopped the bus 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 and perhaps prevented something worse from happening. According to the newspaper report, there were also children and young people on the bus.

Memories of the Solingen attack

The crime brings back memories of the attack in Solingen exactly one week ago. There, a man killed three people with a knife and injured eight others at a town festival. The suspected perpetrator, a 26-year-old Syrian, is in custody. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is investigating him for murder and suspicion of membership in the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS), among other things.

The Siegen-Wittgenstein district police appealed: “We ask citizens not to spread false reports on social networks or other channels, and in particular not to make any reference to a terrorist attack. The police have no information on this.”

City had reviewed security concept again

The city of Siegen is celebrating its 800th birthday this weekend. The organizers had been concerned about security after the attack in Solingen. The existing security concept and operational planning had been carefully reviewed again, Mayor Steffen Mues was quoted as saying on the city festival website. “Not canceling the city festival is also a sign of democracy and freedom.” Visitors to the city festival are not allowed to carry knives, the city’s website states.

DPA/fal

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