An axe attacker who injured seven people at Dusseldorf train station acted alone and suffered from mental health problems, police say.
Authorities say the man is a 37-year-old from the former Yugoslavia, who currently lives in the western German city of Wuppertal and "obviously suffers from mental health problems."
Station authorities were first alerted to the attack on Thursday evening. The man allegedly attacked passengers on a local train before also swinging the axe at members of the public in the train station's main hall.
Three people were seriously injured, while four others sustained minor injuries, police said. Two Italian tourists were among the injured.
"German federal police were on the scene very, very quickly and were able to make sure the situation was static and that victims were being looked after," a spokesman told journalists, as he described the moments after the attack.
He said that when police pursued the suspect he jumped from a bridge.
"He injured himself badly and is now being treated in hospital," the spokesman said, before adding that the person had been arrested and the axe seized.
German authorities have heightened security measures following a series of attacks in public places over the past year. Within minutes of Thursday's incident, heavily-armed police arrived at the station to respond to a possible extremist attack, a fear that soon proved unfounded.
In total, almost 600 police were called to the scene.
In July of last year, a 17-year-old asylum seeker, carrying a knife and an axe, launched an attack on a regional train near the city of Wurzburg, injuring five.
Share
