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| Twelve injured after woman stabs people at Hamburg train station | Twelve injured after woman stabs people at Hamburg train station |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Police say six victims critically wounded in attack by 39-year-old assailant in Germany’s second-largest city | |
| German police have arrested a woman after at least 12 people were injured in a knife attack at the main station in the northern city of Hamburg. | German police have arrested a woman after at least 12 people were injured in a knife attack at the main station in the northern city of Hamburg. |
| Some of the injured sustained life-threatening injuries in the stabbing, emergency services said, although the exact number remained unclear. | Some of the injured sustained life-threatening injuries in the stabbing, emergency services said, although the exact number remained unclear. |
| Around 6:30pm local time (5:30pm BST), Hamburg police said on X they were carrying out a major operation at the main train station in Germany’s second-largest city. | Around 6:30pm local time (5:30pm BST), Hamburg police said on X they were carrying out a major operation at the main train station in Germany’s second-largest city. |
| “A person injured several people with a knife at the main train station” and a suspect had been arrested, they said. | “A person injured several people with a knife at the main train station” and a suspect had been arrested, they said. |
| The suspect, police subsequently said, was a 39-year-old woman who was thought to have “acted alone”. | The suspect, police subsequently said, was a 39-year-old woman who was thought to have “acted alone”. |
| Police later said there was no sign of a political motive in the attack. | Police later said there was no sign of a political motive in the attack. |
| “We have no evidence so far that the woman may have had a political motive,” local police spokesperson Florian Abbenseth told journalists at the scene, in comments broadcast by ARD public television. Police were instead pursuing the theory that the suspect may have “been experiencing a psychological emergency”. | “We have no evidence so far that the woman may have had a political motive,” local police spokesperson Florian Abbenseth told journalists at the scene, in comments broadcast by ARD public television. Police were instead pursuing the theory that the suspect may have “been experiencing a psychological emergency”. |
| A spokesperson for the Hamburg fire department said 12 people had been injured in the knife attack. | A spokesperson for the Hamburg fire department said 12 people had been injured in the knife attack. |
| Among them were “six people with life-threatening injuries”, they said. German media however reported the number of people with very severe injuries was lower. | |
| Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s office said the German leader was appalled by the news and told Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher in a call Friday evening that “my thoughts are with the victims and their relatives”. | |
| The attack took place around 6:00pm in the middle of rush hour at the end of the working week, according to German media. | The attack took place around 6:00pm in the middle of rush hour at the end of the working week, according to German media. |
| The suspect was thought to have carried out the attack “against passengers” at the station, a spokesperson for the Hanover federal police directorate, which also covers Hamburg, told AFP. | The suspect was thought to have carried out the attack “against passengers” at the station, a spokesperson for the Hanover federal police directorate, which also covers Hamburg, told AFP. |
| Images of the scene showed access to the platforms at one end of the station blocked off by police and people being loaded into waiting ambulances. | Images of the scene showed access to the platforms at one end of the station blocked off by police and people being loaded into waiting ambulances. |
| Some of the victims in the attack were being treated onboard waiting trains in the station, Bild reported. | Some of the victims in the attack were being treated onboard waiting trains in the station, Bild reported. |
| German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said on X that four platforms at the station had been closed and the incident would lead to “delays and diversions in long-distance services”. | |
| Germany has been rocked in recent months by a series of violent attacks with often jihadist or far-right extremist motivations that have put security at the top of the agenda. | Germany has been rocked in recent months by a series of violent attacks with often jihadist or far-right extremist motivations that have put security at the top of the agenda. |
| In the most recent attack, four people were injured in a stabbing at a bar in the city of Bielefeld on Sunday. | In the most recent attack, four people were injured in a stabbing at a bar in the city of Bielefeld on Sunday. |