This is the chilling moment a woman was arrested after 18 people were injured in a horror train station knife rampage in Hamburg that left four victims fighting for their lives.
Police confirmed they had arrested a 39-year-old German female suspect in connection with the stabbing spree at Hamburg Central Station on Friday afternoon.
Footage of the arrest shows a hooded woman wearing tracksuit bottoms being dragged away from the travel hub by two cops and escorted into a police van as members of the public watch in horror.
The suspect, who has not been named, does not appear to put up a fight.
She is believed to have acted alone and there was no sign of her having a political motive. The rampage is not being treated as a terror attack.
The woman, who authorities said was mentally ill and potentially in a ‘state of psychological emergency’ at the time of attack, was already known to police and had previously spent time in a psychiatric hospital, according to German outlet Bild.
Officers ‘approached her, and the woman allowed herself to be arrested without resistance’, Hamburg Police spokesman Florian Abbenseth told journalists in comments carried by public broadcaster ARD.
‘We have no evidence so far that the woman may had a political motive,’ Abbenseth said.
Police confirmed they had arrested a 39-year-old German female suspect in connection a stabbing spree at Hamburg Central Station on Friday afternoon. Footage of the arrest shows a hooded woman wearing tracksuit bottoms being dragged away from the travel hub by two cops
The attack left 18 people injured, with four of them now fighting for their lives
The suspect is believed to have acted alone and there was no sign of her having a political motive
‘Rather, we have information based on which we now want to investigate whether she may have been experiencing a psychological emergency.’
At least 18 people were injured in the attack in Germany’s second-biggest city, a spokesman for the Hamburg fire department told AFP.
Four of them had suffered life-threatening injuries, the spokesman added, revising down an initial figure of six.
Six others are severely injured and seven more suffered light injuries, the spokesman for the fire department said.
The suspect targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station, according to police.
A young woman at the station witnessed the stabbing. She told Hamburger Abendblatt: ‘Luckily I didn’t have headphones on, so I heard everyone screaming, and then they all ran away.’
The station in downtown Hamburg is a major hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
The Hamburg police reported a ‘major police operation’ on X.
Authorities have said the woman was mentally ill and potentially in a ‘state of psychological emergency’. Pictured: Police and forensics work near the crime scene after a stabbing attack at Hamburg Central Station
The rampage is not being treated as a terror attack
The suspect targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station, according to police
Pictures on social media showed crowds gathered outside the transport hub, as emergency service vehicles and forensics swarmed the scene
Ambulance and German police gather outside the central station in Hamburg, Germany, 23 May 2025
Hamburg’s fire service said that six people sustained life-threatening injuries, while another three were seriously injured and three had slight injuries, German news agency dpa reported
Train service around the main station is currently suspended, as per local reports. Pictured: Police near the scene of a stabbing at Hamburg Central Station in Hamburg, Germany
‘There is currently a major police operation in #Hamburg on #Hauptbahnhof!
‘We are investigating the background and will provide further information here shortly,’ the force added.
Pictures on social media showed crowds gathered outside the transport hub, as emergency service vehicles and forensics swarmed the scene.
According to German newspaper Bild, some of the injured were being treated on trains.
In one image a man was being treated on the platform, while another was taken away on a stretcher.
In a statement, the national railway company Deutsche Bahn said it was ‘deeply shocked’ by the attack. ‘Our thoughts and condolences go out to the injured.’
Regional public broadcaster NDR reported that the attack took place shortly after 6 pm (5pm GMT) in front of a waiting train.
A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the attack.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a post on social media platform X that the news from Hamburg was ‘shocking’
Four tracks at the station were closed Friday evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted. Pictured: Forensic police officers investigate
Pictured: Police officers and forensic experts work at Hamburg’s main train station
Four tracks at the station were closed Friday evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was ‘deeply shocked’ by the attack.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a post on social media platform X that the news from Hamburg was ‘shocking.’
‘My thoughts are with the victims and their families,’ he said.
Four tracks at the station were closed Friday evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.
Carrying weapons, including knives, is banned at the station and on local transport in Hamburg.
The rampage in Hamburg Central Station is the latest in a spate of bloody knife attacks in Germany.
Earlier this month, a Syrian national is alleged to have attacked and injured at least five football fans in front of the Cuties bar in the western city of Bielefeld.
Four men, aged between 22 and 27, and a woman, aged 26, were reportedly attacked by a man as they stood in front of the bar in the early hours.
Horrified onlookers attempted to knock the attacker down but he managed to flee the scene.
Back in January, a child and adult were killed during a knife attack in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, which left two more injured.
Last summer, three people died and four were left seriously injured after a knife attack in a festival in the streets of Solingen.
