Siegen (dpa) – Police are continuing to investigate a knife attack on a bus in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The bus was on a special route and was supposed to take more than 40 passengers to a town festival on Friday when a woman suddenly stabbed people with a knife. At least six were injured – three of them critically. According to police, a 32-year-old suspect was arrested shortly afterwards. “This act has left us all completely stunned,” said Siegen Mayor Steffen Mues in a statement.
The city festival is still scheduled to go ahead on Saturday. According to the city, the organizers are basing their decision on the “police findings of the situation.” According to the police, there is currently no further danger.
Three injured people no longer in hospital
Two of the six injured people had already been released from hospital during the night. A woman also discharged herself, a police spokesman told the German Press Agency. The spokesman initially declined to comment on the exact condition of the injured person. According to police, they were between 16 and 30 years old and all come from the Siegen-Wittgenstein district.
According to the police, 36 passengers were cared for in a hall during the night. Emergency chaplains, firefighters and police were on site. The people who were on the bus at the time of the attack are being questioned. There are also relatives in the hall. According to the police, there were over 40 adults on the bus, as well as two or three children who had been picked up by their mothers.
City festival to continue
Despite the attack, the city of Siegen did not want to cancel its city festival. It will continue on Saturday at 11 a.m. with an ecumenical service on the castle square, it said in a statement overnight.
Mayor Mues spoke to eyewitnesses on site after the incident in Siegen and thanked the first responders, emergency services and emergency chaplains, it said.
The Bundestag member for Siegen-Wittgenstein, Laura Kraft, also wished the injured man on Platform X a “speedy recovery and the relatives of those affected a lot of strength in these hours.” This incident cast a “shadow over the celebrations” in Siegen.
Background of the crime unclear
“We are securing evidence at the crime scene and questioning witnesses,” said a police spokesman on Saturday night. The background to the crime and the exact sequence of events were initially unclear. However, the 32-year-old is known to the police. According to dpa information, there are indications that the woman is mentally ill. The police initially have “no indications of a political or religious motive for the crime.” The investigation is ongoing.
Memories of the Solingen attack
The crime brings back memories of the attack in Solingen on Friday a week ago. On Friday evening, a man randomly stabbed bystanders for the first time at an anniversary celebration to mark the 650th anniversary of the founding of the city of Solingen. He then escaped in the tumult and initial panic. Two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman died. Eight people were injured, four of them seriously. The suspected perpetrator is in custody.
