Police arrest suspected knife attack – DW – May 16, 2024

Two passers-by were seriously injured and another four were slightly injured in a random knife attack in the northern Swiss town of Zofingen, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the city of Basel and the German border, according to local police.

“We have several injured people,” a police spokesman told the dpa news agency, adding that they had been taken to hospital.

Police said they received calls about a man attacking people with a “sharpened or pointed weapon” at the local train station. The attacker then reportedly fled into a nearby building, injuring people indiscriminately.

As police began their operation, locals were told to avoid the area.

What we know about the attack

Police confirmed on social media at 18:48 CET that the perpetrator had been arrested by special forces after hiding in a building for two hours.

Later they said they did arrested a lone attacker and completed the large-scale operation.

According to local police, the perpetrator, “who is believed to have acted alone,” was identified as a foreign man aged around 40. His motive for the attack is still unclear.

All six victims are being treated in hospital for stab wounds. Among the injured are two teachers from the Zofingen Cantonal School and a pregnant woman who suffered cuts to her face, but her life is no longer in danger. The perpetrator is also receiving medical treatment for self-inflicted stab wounds.

sb,mf/lo,ab (dpa, AFP)