Three people have been stabbed at a busy Swiss train station by a man reportedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” in front of terrified bystanders including young schoolchildren, in an attack that prompted a major police response in the country’s eighth-largest city.
The assault took place at Winterthur train station, northwest of Zurich, shortly after 8.30am on Wednesday morning. According to eyewitness accounts, a man began attacking people with a knife while repeatedly shouting the Arabic phrase. A teacher is reported to have stepped in front of a group of kindergarten pupils in an attempt to shield them from the attacker as panicked bystanders fled the scene.
“I arrived at the train station around 8.20am,” one witness told The Sun. “About 30 metres away, I heard a man behind me shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ five or six times in a very emotional and agitated manner. Looking back, I got goosebumps.” Another witness described seeing a man with a bandage around his neck, while a third said a person was lying on the ground.
Emergency services arrived within minutes. A spokesperson for Zurich cantonal police confirmed that a 31-year-old Swiss man had been arrested in connection with the attack. Three victims — aged 28, 43 and 52 — were taken to hospital. One sustained serious injuries while the other two were described as being in a moderate condition. Swiss news agency SRF reported that one man waiting for a train had been stabbed in the thigh.
In the aftermath, the elevator leading to the station’s underpass was closed and screens were erected to block the area from public view. One witness described a cordon of at least 100 metres, with the area “swarming with police.”
The motive behind the attack remains under investigation and authorities have not yet confirmed whether it is being treated as a terrorist incident. Winterthur is a city of approximately 123,000 people situated around 25 kilometres from Zurich.
