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German Police Kill Assailant After Ax Attack Aboard a Train German Police Kill Assailant After Ax Attack Aboard a Train
(about 2 hours later)
WEIMAR, Germany — A 17-year-old Afghan youth who came to Germany as a migrant last year attacked several passengers with an ax and a knife on a local train near the southern German city of Würzburg late on Monday, injuring at least four people, while 14 others were treated for shock, the police said. WEIMAR, Germany — A 17-year-old Afghan youth who came to Germany as a migrant last year attacked several passengers with an ax and a knife on a train in the south of the country late on Monday, injuring at least four people, while 14 others were treated for shock, the police said.
The attacker fled the train as police officers moved in and was fatally shot while trying to escape, according to the interior minister of the state of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann. The motive for the attack remained unclear. The police were interviewing witnesses. After the train made an emergency stop, the attacker fled and was pursued by police officers, who fatally shot him, according to the interior minister of the state of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann. The motive for the attack remained unclear.
The young man had entered Germany without his parents and applied for asylum, Mr. Herrmann said. The young man had entered Germany without his parents and applied for asylum, Mr. Herrmann said. According to government figures, more than 14,400 unaccompanied minors arrived last year among the more than one million migrants who entered the country.
The train was traveling from Treuchtlingen in the southern state of Bavaria to Würzburg when the attack occurred, the German federal police in Würzburg said. Mr. Herrmann said the attacker had initially lived in a group home, but had most recently been taken in by a foster family. The German authorities have worked to place as many of the minors as possible with families, in hopes of helping them to better integrate into society.
Last month, police killed an armed assailant who had taken several hostages at a multiplex movie theater in the western German city of Viernheim. Mr. Herrmann, speaking to ZDF public television by telephone, said the authorities could not confirm local news reports that the teenager had shouted “Allahu akbar” during the assault.
“There are hints that may indicate a terrorist background, but these have not yet been proven,” Mr. Herrmann said. “There are many witnesses; many people were sitting in the train. There are also the many police who responded and confronted the perpetrator and shot him, who are also important witnesses.”
The train was traveling from Treuchtlingen in Bavaria to Würzburg when the attack occurred, the German federal police in Würzburg said.
In addition to the four wounded during the attack, 14 passengers were treated for psychological shock, the police said.
As the police, including a team of special forces who happened to be in the city, moved in on the teenager, he charged them, and the police opened fire, Mr. Herrmann said.
Last month, the police killed an armed assailant who had taken several hostages at a multiplex movie theater in the western German city of Viernheim.
Germany has not experienced attacks on the same scale as France or Belgium, but it remains on edge amid threats on social media by Islamic extremists. Several plots have been foiled by the police.Germany has not experienced attacks on the same scale as France or Belgium, but it remains on edge amid threats on social media by Islamic extremists. Several plots have been foiled by the police.
Fears have been running high that terrorists may have been among those entering the country last year. Coming just days after a Tunisian using a truck killed 84 people in Nice, France, Monday night’s attack could have political ramifications.
Germans, who arrived in droves at train stations and bus stops to welcome the migrants arriving last year, have since grown increasingly fearful. Worries spiked after North African migrants were linked to dozens of sexual assaults on German women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.