Flensburg stabbing incident

The Flensburg stabbing incident occurred on 30 May 2018, when a female police officer traveling off-duty on a high-speed train in Flensburg, Germany, was stabbed by an Eritrean man. He next attacked a male passenger who came to her aid. The perpetrator was then shot and killed by the police officer. The motive behind the stabbing was not clear. The man was a refugee, who had arrived in Germany in September 2015 and had a history of violent altrications. The incident was not considered terrorism.[1][2]

Attack

Police and prosecutors confirmed following progression of events: a female police officer, 22 years old, who was traveling off-duty on the train but wearing her uniform,[3][4] was on the way to the exit inside a train, when she was attacked by the presumed perpetrator with a kitchen knife as she moved towards the exit door. A fellow passenger, 35 years old, tried to separate the police officer and the attacker, whereupon the perpetrator turned on him, attacking and injuring the passenger who had gone to the aid of the officer; he was left with serious injuries and a broken arm. His counterattack did succeed in drawing the assailant away from the officer, enabling her to draw her service revolver and shoot the perpetrator, killing him. News reports in the first several days after the attack misstated the facts, reporting that the perpetrator had quarreled with the passenger who went to the officer's aid and attacked him before attacking the officer.[5][4][6][7][8][9][10]

Although it was initially reported that there were no witnesses,[11] a witness did come forward and confirm the events of the attack.[12]

Attacker

The attacker was a 24 years old Eritrean refugee who arrived in Germany in September 2015.[8] According to officials, he had attacked a neighbour with an iron rod in April 2015. He was also suspected of having previously threatened people with a knife.[6]

Aftermath

The interior minister of Germany, Horst Seehofer, commented that violence could never be tolerated regardless of whether it was directed towards the police or the people.[13]

The Flensburger Tageblatt reported that no Deutsche Bundesbahn security employees were on board the train. A spokesman from the Press Office of the Federal Police in Potsdam said that in dangerous situations aboard trains, travelers should show notify authorities and "show moral courage."[14]

Sources
  1. Clarke-Billings, Lucy (2018-05-30). "Knifeman shot dead after stabbing two people including police officer on train". mirror. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  2. WELT (2018-05-30). "Flensburg: Messerattacke in Zug – Polizistin erschießt Angreifer". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  3. "Knife attack on German train followed dispute between men". Fox News. Associated Press. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018. A 22-year-old female police officer, who happened to be traveling on the same train, tried to intervene but was then also injured by the attacker.
  4. "Messerattacke im Zug: Täter von Flensburg soll zuerst Polizistin angegriffen haben". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  5. Hencke, Gerrit (7 June 2018). "Messerattacke im Intercity: So sicher sind Züge und Bahnhöfe". Flensburger Tageblatt. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  6. "Mann aus Eritrea war der Polizei bekannt". KN - Kieler Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  7. "Police officer shoots knife attacker dead on Flensburg train". 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  8. "Polizei: So verlief der Messerangriff im Zug in Flensburg". Augsburger Allgemeinen Zeitung. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  9. "Nach Messerattacke im IC: Ermittlungen zu Hintergründen". Die Welt. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  10. "Schüsse im IC: Neuer Zeuge aufgetaucht". Kieler Nachrichten. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  11. "Nach Messerattacke im Zug: Wann gab es ersten Kontakt?". Hamburger Abendblatt. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  12. "Messerattacke im Zug: Weiterer Zeuge befragt". NDR.de. 7 June 2018.
  13. NDR. "Neue Zeugenaussagen: Polizistin direkt angegriffen". www.ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  14. Gerrit Hencke (7 June 2018). "Knife attack in the Intercity: how safe are trains and stations" (in German). Retrieved 11 June 2018. Federal Police requests that passengers in a "dangerous situation" - ie in trains, at stations or on railway systems - turn directly to the train crew or immediately inform the police. If possible, travelers should show moral courage without endangering themselves.
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