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Mass Stabbing at Swiss Train Station Declared Act of Terrorism
Confirmed
In Short: Three people were injured in a mass stabbing at Winterthur train station in Switzerland, with the suspect arrested and the attack declared an act of terrorism.
Three people, including Swiss nationals aged 28, 43, and 52, were hospitalized after a mass stabbing at Winterthur train station. The perpetrator, a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual national, was arrested five minutes after the incident.
Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin expressed shock over the terrorist attack, while Marius Weyermann, commander of the Zurich cantonal police, stated that the suspect had previously distributed Islamic State propaganda and was sent to a psychiatric hospital after presenting himself at a police station.
An eyewitness reported hearing the attacker yell 'Allahu Akbar' before attacking people with a knife, while another eyewitness described a man walking around the station's underpass attacking individuals.
The suspect, who had lived in the area since 2009, had spent much of the last two years in Turkey and had been under police attention since 2015 for distributing IS propaganda.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Police said the three victims - Swiss nationals aged 28, 43 and 52 - were hospitalised after the attack at Winterthur train station.
- Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin said on social media he was "shocked by the terrorist attack this morning in Winterthur".
- Marius Weyermann, commander of the Zurich cantonal police, said at a news conference with Fehr that the suspect lived in the area and had come to authorities' attention in 2015 for distributing Islamic State (IS)…
- He said that on Monday, the suspect was sent to a psychiatric hospital after he had presented himself at a police station, where he made "incoherent statements".
- An eyewitness working in an office building nearby told a local newspaper he heard a man yell "Allahu Akbar" - meaning "God is greatest" in Arabic - at around 08:30 local time before attacking people with a knife.
- Another eyewitness, a taxi driver, told Zurich-based daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung that a man had been walking around the station's underpass attacking people.
- The suspect, who was arrested five minutes after emergency services were alerted, is a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual national who lives in Winterthur, regional police chief Marius Weyermann said.
- He said the suspect was born in Switzerland and gained Swiss citizenship in 2009 and apparently had spent much of the last two years in Turkey.