BERLIN — A man on a long-distance train in southern Germany attacked and slightly injured four people with a hammer Thursday before he was detained by police, authorities said.
Police in Straubing said the attack happened on an ICE express train headed from the northern Germany city of Hamburg to the Austrian capital of Vienna while it was between Straubing and Plattling in the southern state of Bavaria.
About 500 people were on board when the attack happened, police said. About 150 police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, police added. The railway line was closed down.
Police initially said the perpetrator used an axe in the attack but later said he allegedly used a hammer and likely other weapons which they did not further name.
They identified the suspect as a 20-year-old Syrian national.
Three of the four injured passengers also were Syrians, a boy of 15 and two men aged 24 and 51. The fourth victim was a 38-year-old passenger whose nationality was not yet known, police said. All four injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals.
Police did not provide further details on the identity of the attacker or his motive, but later said that he was overpowered by fellow passengers and had also been injured.
The perpetrator ''is probably somewhat more seriously injured," a police spokesperson told German news agency dpa. He was in police custody and receiving medical treatment.
