Three injured at Swiss train station in ‘dangerous’ stabbing | Crime Stories

Swiss authorities have arrested a man who came to authorities in 2015 for spreading ISIL propaganda.

A man stabbed and wounded three people in what authorities described as a “horrific” attack at a train station in the Swiss city of Winterthur.

The attack happened shortly after 8:30am (06:00 GMT) on Thursday. The suspect – who was arrested five minutes after the emergency was called – is a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish national who lives in Winterthur, regional police chief Marius Weyermann said.

He came to the attention of the authorities in 2015 for spreading propaganda about the ISIL (ISIS) group, Weyermann added. In recent days, he was taken to a mental health facility after calling the police emergency number and speaking “disturbingly”, but he left on Wednesday after a doctor determined that he was not dangerous.

Three Swiss men, aged 28, 43 and 52, were injured in Thursday’s attack.

The first two had been released or were about to be released from hospitals by mid-afternoon, Weyermann said. The old man was still in the hospital after surgery on his hip.

Weyermann said investigators believe the man acted alone.

Mario Fehr, head of security for the Zurich region, said the attack was a “bad threat”.

He added that the suspect was born in Switzerland and received Swiss citizenship in 2009 and apparently spent the last two years in Turkey.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said he was “horrified by the terrorist attacks… This affects me deeply”.

“I wish the three injured a speedy and full recovery. And I thank the medical staff for their work.”

In response to the attack, the Islamic Central Council (IZR) in Switzerland said it “strongly condemns this act of cowardice and brutality”.

ISIL, it added, “is not an Islamic group, but a vicious terrorist group whose aim is to create conflict, kill innocent people and destroy the reputation of Muslims around the world”.

Winterthur has a population of about 123,000 and is located in northeastern Switzerland, close to the country’s largest city, Zurich.