Police stand in front of the station in Winterthur, near Zurich where three people were injured during an attack. (Photo: Arnd Wiegmann / AFP).
A 31-year-old Swiss citizen was arrested on Thursday morning after he attacked and injured three people with a knife at the main station in Winterthur, near Zurich. The man apparently repeatedly “God bless you” (God is the greatest) shouted.
According to the police in Zurich, the attack took place shortly after 08:30. One of the victims was seriously wounded. All three of the injured – respectively 28, 43 and 52 years old – are Swiss citizens and were rushed to a hospital.
Witnesses described scenes of panic and chaos. Videos broadcast on social media and by Swiss media show a bearded man with long, dark hair running past the station while raising his right hand and shouting. Among other things, the attacker ran past a group of young school children who were on an excursion.
Turhan Muslu (65), a taxi driver at the scene, told the newspaper Blick said he saw the man rush down a ramp.
“He tried to stab a man, but the victim fought back fiercely before station guards arrived and knocked the attacker down. It all happened so quickly,” said Muslu.
The police spokesperson, Roger Bonetti, confirmed to the public broadcaster SRF that the suspect’s motive is still being investigated. The Zurich police currently work closely with the Winterthur municipal police and the federal railway police.
The Swiss Federal Railways meanwhile said that the incident did not cause any disruption to train traffic.