Two teenagers have been killed and eight injured after a young man attacked train passengers with a knife in Schleswig-Holstein.

Knife attack on Schleswig-Holstein train

A 33-year-old man has been arrested in the town of Brokstedt after he attacked train passengers with a knife on Wednesday afternoon.

The train had been travelling between Kiel and Hamburg when the man began attacking people. “There was mayhem on the train. Eyewitnesses say that the man began to run amok. That people were running through the train in panic,” journalist Jenny Witt told Deutsche Welle.

Police have now released details that the two victims killed in the attack were a 16-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man.

During the events, people on the train had been calling emergency services to alert them of what was happening. Three people on the train then began to intervene and detain the attacker as the train moved into Brokstedt station in Schleswig-Holstein. The group alighted the train and detained the man until police arrived to arrest him.

70 of the 120 train passengers were then taken to a nearby restaurant and questioned about what they had seen. Police have confirmed that the attacker is among the eight people injured and is currently in hospital with minor injuries.

What were the motivations behind the attack?

While police originally announced that the attacker was unknown to authorities, it has since been confirmed that he was released from prison just six days ago.

A spokesperson involved in the ongoing investigation said that it was still unclear what had motivated the man and that the investigation would look in “all directions”.

News agency dpa reported that the attacker may have been mentally unwell. According to the police’s initial investigations, the man has not previously been connected to any extremist groups.

Interior Minister of Schleswig-Holstein Sabine Sütterlin-Waack (CDU) and police spokesperson Frank Matthiesen will hold a press conference at 2pm on Thursday to announce any further developments.

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