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1 killed, 3 injured: Man reportedly shouts ‘Allah is great,’ stabs people at train station nr Munich 1 dead, 3 injured: Man reportedly shouts ‘Allah is great,’ stabs people at train station near Munich
(about 3 hours later)
At least one man has been killed and three injured after a knife-wielding German man reportedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” attacked people at Grafing train station near the city of Munich. The attack might have an Islamist motive, officials said. A man who killed at least one and injured three more at a train station in the town of Grafing near Munich, while allegedly shouting “Allahu Akbar,” had no Islamist motive, officials said, adding the assailant apparently has mental health problems and drug issues.
Apart from "Allahu Akbar" the man was heard shouting “unbelievers,” Das Bild newspaper reported, citing local witnesses. The incident took place early on Tuesday. German media cited local witnesses who claimed that the knife-wielding man started attacking people at the station, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and “unbelievers.”The attacker was arrested on the spot.
The prosecutor has confirmed the death of a 50-year-old man. He added that “two people are badly wounded, one is in critical condition.” The three injured are aged 58, 43 and 55. One of the victims, a 56-year-old man, later succumbed to his injuries in hospital, the prosecutor said. He added that “two people are badly wounded, one is in critical condition.” The three injured are aged 58, 43 and 55.
The authorities quickly closed the station following the attack. “The station is a crime scene,” a police spokesman told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, adding that specialists will be working there. The police also announced media ‘blackout’, German press reported.
The fact that the man was shouting “Allahu Akbar” fueled speculation on social media, where it was suggested the man might have been connected to extremist groups.
Initial statements by police officials and the prosecutor’s office said the man might have “Islamist motives.”
The “assailant made remarks at the scene of the crime that indicate a political motive - apparently an Islamist one,” Ken Heidenreich, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told AFP. “We are still determining what the exact remarks were.”The “assailant made remarks at the scene of the crime that indicate a political motive - apparently an Islamist one,” Ken Heidenreich, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told AFP. “We are still determining what the exact remarks were.”
The 27-year-old German citizen stabbed a newspaper delivery man in the back, a firefighter told the Merkur paper. The name and nationality of the attacker was then revealed to the public by German media as being 27-year-old Paul H. from the city of Hesse in central Germany. The attacker reportedly does not have a migrant background.
The interior minister of the state of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann, confirmed that the perpetrator was a German national, without providing details on the incident. Heidenreich told AP that the prosecutor’s office was investigating witness reports, claiming that the suspect yelled “Allahu Akbar.”
"When it comes to revealing more about their background, or whether mental illness or drug addiction played a role, these are things that require further clarification. I think we will make further announcements on this later in the day." The authorities later said there were no Islamist motives in the attack and the man was probably a drug addict and suffered from mental health issues.
The attacker is reportedly from the city of Hesse in central Germany. He doesn’t have a migrant background, the ARD broadcaster said. The nationality of the attacker was confirmed by the interior minister of the state of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann.
Bayerischer Rundfunk identified the attacker as Paul H., a young man with mental health problems. ARD cited sources claiming he was also a drug addict. “When it comes to revealing more about their background, or whether mental illness or drug addiction played a role, these are things that require further clarification. I think we will make further announcements on this later in the day.”
According to German law enforcers, the alleged perpetrator was arrested on the spot. He has no criminal record.  Herrmann later said there was no indication thus far that there was an Islamic extremist motive, and said the suspect apparently had mental health problems and drug issues.
"The idea that people enter the station or deliver newspapers there and then become victims of a maniac is terrible. Hopefully they will recover completely," the town's mayor Angelika Obermayr told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "I am most grateful to the police, doctors, paramedics and our firefighters who reacted quickly on the scene." Grafing, a small town of 12,000 people, is in shock over the incident.
Access to Grafing station is partially blocked and significant delays are expected. “Something like this is absolutely new and shakes people deeply, otherwise, they only know this kind of thing from television,” Mayor Angelika Obermayr said. “That it could happen here is absolutely shocking.”
The station has been closed following the attack. “The station is a crime scene,” and specialists will be working there, a police spokesman told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Germany has so far seen two attacks with apparent Islamist motives. In February, a 15-year-old girl, named as Safia S., stabbed a police officer at the main train station in Hannover. According to prosecutors, the girl had “embraced radical jihadist ideology of the foreign terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL].”
This is not the first knife attack in Germany that has an apparent Islamist motive. In February, a 15-year-old girl, Safia S., stabbed a police officer at the main train station in Hannover. According to prosecutors, the girl had “embraced radical jihadist ideology of the foreign terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” In September 2015, Rafik Y., a 41-year-old of Iraqi origin, seriously injured a female officer in Berlin. The attacker was later revealed as a known Islamic extremist.
In September 2015, a 41-year-old, Rafik Y. of Iraqi origin, seriously injured a female officer in Berlin. The attacker was later revealed as a known Islamic extremist.