Düsseldorf attack: man arrested after injuring seven people with an axe

A man was arrested after injuring seven people with an axe at Düsseldorf’s main train station on Thursday night, police have said.

In a statement, they described the man as a 36-year-old from the former Yugoslavia who apparently had mental health problems. Police said three of the victims were seriously injured, with the others suffering minor injuries. The suspect was also injured.

Earlier, a spokesman for federal police had said two people were arrested and further attackers might be on the run. This was later corrected by police who confirmed only one arrest.

Police said there was no indication of a terrorist motive behind the attack.

The station remained closed while crime scene specialists carried out their work but police are not searching for any other attackers.

They are investigating reports that the man entered the overground number 28 railway line of the Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn network on Thursday at about 8.50pm local time and started to attack passengers, later turning on passersby on a platform.

After fleeing across the tracks, the man jumped off a railway bridge, reportedly sustaining injuries. He was arrested soon afterwards, still carrying a weapon.

After fleeing across the tracks, the man jumped off a railway bridge, reportedly sustaining injuries. He was arrested soon afterwards, still carrying a weapon.

The local newspaper Rheinische Post quoted one witness, Tobias Schneeberger, 30, who said the assailant had got off the S28 overground at the station and run up and down the platform carrying a weapon, described in various reports as an axe. Other reports described the weapon as a hatchet.

Another witness told Bild newspaper: “I saw the man. There was blood on the floor, I think I saw two bodies on the tracks.”