Man killed in Munich train stabbing

A German man yelled out “infidel, you must die” and “Allahu akbar” as he stabbed four people at a Bavarian train station.

However, authorities say they have found no links to any Islamic extremist network and added that the man appears to be psychologically disturbed.

One victim died in a hospital and three others were being treated for their wounds.

The 27-year-old was taken into custody near the scene at the Grafing Bahnhof just before 5am and had a 10cm survival knife tucked into his belt, authorities said.

The suspect, whose name was not released in line with German privacy laws, had admitted to the crime, said Ken Heidenreich, spokesman for the Munich prosecutor’s office.

Mr Heidenreich said that there were questions about whether the man can be held criminally responsible and that they were evaluating whether he should be taken to a mental institution.

Senior police official Lothar Koehler said the suspect told them he had been taking drugs, and that around the time of the attack he took his shoes off because “he felt bugs on his feet that had caused blisters and were generating intense heat”.

Koehler added it was not immediately clear whether the suspect was under the influence of drugs at the time.

The attack comes at a sensitive time in Germany after the influx of around 1.1m migrants last year and growing concerns about how the country will deal with them, particularly in Bavaria, their usual state of entry.

Senior police official Guenther Gietl said a woman reported hearing the words “infidel, you must die” as the attack began, and that the suspect himself had admitted yelling “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great”.

Criminal police official Petra Sandles said there was no evidence that he was a part of any Islamic extremist network.

Authorities said the suspect lived near the central city of Giessen, and it wasn’t clear why he had travelled to Grafing, around 20 miles east of Munich.

Police spokesman Irwin Heumann said the 56-year-old victim who died was attacked aboard the train.

He said it was not yet clear where the three wounded victims were assaulted. The other victims were men aged 43, 55, and 58. Heidenreich said one of the survivors had “serious injuries”.