A 43-year-old suspect has been detained following a deadly knife attack at Iserlohn train station in Germany in which a 32-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man died. The alleged attacker did not put up a struggle and was detained on the spot, the German news agency DPA reports, citing a police spokesman.
"Our investigation suggests so far that there is no other cause than that the reason for it lies in their personal relationship”, he said.
According to reports, the dispute escalated into a stabbing spree. However, the exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed by an autopsy. According to the German outlet Bild, one of the victims was still fighting for his life when emergency services arrived, but he could not be saved. Many people witnessed the attack, including a wedding party of about 20 people, as the station is located in the city centre, so it was quite busy at the time of the incident, according to the police spokesman. The shocked wedding guests, passers-by, and passengers were attended to in the station building by crisis chaplains.
The area around the station was partially closed: one of the tracks was shut down, while another remained accessible. In order to prevent passengers from seeing the crime scene, they were accompanied to a detour to the station’s front square and bus station.
The suspect, who came from the same town in northern German as the victims, will appear before a magistrate tomorrow.