Würzburg stabbing: three women killed, six attempted murders | Abroad

The German police report that two of the seven seriously injured people have been released from hospital. Another person is in mortal danger.

According to the German newspaper Bild, the man took a knife from a shelf in a shop in the city center. Then he would start stabbing on customers. Outside he continued his bizarre knife attack.

The motive is still unclear. Police said on Saturday that “hate messages” were found at the suspect’s home. The three victims who died were women and most of the injured were too, but it is not known whether this was intentional or accidental, according to the police. That is still under investigation.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said a mental disorder for which he was previously treated in a mental institution and religious motives may have played a role. The suspect was not known to be an extremist. He has lived in the Bavarian city of Würzburg since 2015, although he has recently been in a homeless shelter.

The lawyer assigned to the suspect says after an interview that he thinks there was probably no religious or extremist motive. “But he has not officially said anything about the incident.”

The suspect will be transferred to a cell on Saturday. He is still suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg that he sustained during his arrest. When he struck, he was barefoot. He also wore a white face mask. Bystanders tried to overpower him and threw items such as chairs and umbrellas at him.

Residents of the southern city came to the scene of the stabbing on Saturday to mourn. The death toll from the violence may rise. The flags in the state of Bavaria are flown at half-mast. “Yesterday’s events are incomprehensible and staggering,” Prime Minister Söder said. “We pray and hold hope for the injured and their loved ones.”

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