Swiss police said on Thursday (May 28) that the knife attack at a train station in Switzerland was a terrorist act. The incident left three people injured. The authorities arrested a suspect who had previously been reported for spreading propaganda for the Islamic State (ISIS).
According to Reuters, the suspect arrested is a 31-year-old man from Winterthur, north of Zurich. He holds dual Swiss and Turkish citizenship.
Mario Fehr, the security chief of the Zurich canton, described the attack as “a despicable act of terrorism. I think the police handled it very well, successfully preventing a worse outcome.”
Fehr praised the courageous actions of a teacher during a press conference. The teacher stood in front of the students protecting them until the attacker was apprehended.
“There were many brave people,” Fehr said, mentioning the teacher as a “role model.”
Marius Weyermann, the police chief of the Zurich canton, stated that the suspect had been reported in 2015 for spreading propaganda for the extremist ISIS organization.
Weyermann said, “The motivation behind this incident must be investigated from the perspective of radicalization and extremism.”
Swiss newspaper “Blick” reported that they obtained a video showing a man running out of the Winterthur train station concourse shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
According to the police, the three victims of the attack are receiving treatment in the hospital. One was stabbed in the leg, another in the neck, and the third in the thigh.
Weyermann stated that the injured individuals have been taken to the hospital, with the third man requiring emergency surgery.