Berlin: Afghan teen attacks passengers on train, shot dead

Updated: Tuesday, July 19, 2016, 11:19 [IST]

Berlin, July 19: Passengers of a regional train in southern Germany were attacked by an Afghan migrant, armed with axe and a knife on Monday night. Four people were injured before he was shot dead by the police as he fled.

According to the Wuerzburg police (on their Facebook page), three of the injured were critical and one had minor injuries. Another 14 people were treated for shock.

State Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, who is Bavaria's top security official, said that the attacker had been identified as a 17-year old Afghan.

Last year, Germany had registered more than a million migrants entering the country. Out of which, 150,000 were Afghans. It is, however, not clear whether the suspect was one of them or someone who was in the country for a long time.

According to sources, it was revealed that the teen came to Germany as an unaccompanied minor and had lived in the Wuerzburg area for some time. He was initially living in a refugee facility in the town of Ochsenfurt. It is also said that he had a foster family.

While authorities were still investigating the matter, they also considered that the teen had exclaimed "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Great") while attacking the passengers. The train was on its way from the Bavarian town of Treuchtlingen to Wuerzburg.