Assailant Killed, Several Injured in Axe Attack on Train in Germany

Three people were seriously injured after the Afghan refugee went on a stabbing rampage near the Southern German city of Würzburg, some 280 kilometers (174 miles) Northwest of Munich. The suspect was shot dead by police shortly after, DW reported.

The incident occurred on a regional commuter train traveling between the German towns of Treuchlingen and Würzburg. Fifteen passengers were also treated with light injuries.

According to FNA, four of injured victims were a family from Hong Kong. The semiautonomous Chinese city's top official, Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying, issued a statement condemning the attack and said representatives from the Hong Kong office in Berlin were visiting the victims in hospital.

The "South China Morning Post" newspaper reported that the family included a father, mother, daughter and the daughter's boyfriend. Another family member, a son aged 17, was not hurt, the newspaper reported.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann confirmed in a television interview that the teenager boarded the train in Ochsenfurt, where he had been staying with a foster family after traveling unaccompanied to Germany to seek asylum.

"The attacker appears to have been a 17-year-old Afghan who has been living in Ochsenfurt for some time," Herrmann said.

"He suddenly attacked passengers with a knife and an axe, critically injuring several. Some of them may now be fighting for their lives."

The Afghan national reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" before launching the attack, wielding a knife and axe.

"The perpetrator was able to leave the train, police left in pursuit and as part of this pursuit, they shot the attacker and killed him," a police spokesman said.

The motive of the attack was not immediately clear.