17 Stabbed in Knife Rampage at Germany Train Station, Woman Arrested: 'It Is Shocking'

A woman is accused of stabbing 17 people in a knife attack at Central Station in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, May 23, according to CNN, The New Daily and The New York Times.

Around 6 p.m. local time on a crowded train platform, the attacker started to randomly stab travelers who were waiting for a long-distance train. Six people were “badly injured,” while seven others were “lightly injured,” the fire department said, per CNN. It is unclear how many people sustained “life-threatening injuries,” but authorities previously said there were several victims who had, the outlet added.

Police in Germany arrested a 39-year-old German woman, who is believed to have committed the crime alone. The attack occurred in the country’s busiest and most dangerous train stations, with an already preestablished weapons-free zone, police say, per the NYT.

Hamburg Police said the attacker had acted “apparently indiscriminately, stabbed passersby, injuring some of them critically,” according to a statement, CNN reported. Authorities believe the woman might have been in a state of mental distress, per the NYT. Upon the authorities’ arrival, the woman surrendered without resistance.

“The perpetrator is in custody,” Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher said, per NYT. “I wish the victims of the crime much strength and hope that those who are seriously injured will also be able to be saved.”

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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Germany’s Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said that his “thoughts are with the victims and their families.” He also thanked the city’s emergency responders for their aid. 

Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt echoed Merz’s sentiments. “It is shocking when travelers are attacked in a treacherous and cowardly manner,” Dobrindt said, according to CNN.

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Germany has encountered a rise in knife crime in recent years. On Monday, May 19, a man was arrested as a suspect in a knife attack that injured five people on Sunday, May 18, in Bielefeld, Germany, The Washington Post reported.

In August 2024, a 26-year-old man was accused of having killed three people and wounded eight others in a Solingen festival knife attack. 

Months before, in June 2024, a man attacked several people and injured seven people in Mannheim, per CBS News.