Police officers at the scene after a stabbing attack at a train station in Winterthur, Switzerland
A man armed with a knife wounded three people at a train station in the Swiss city of Winterthur on Thursday in what authorities described as a “terrorist act” before police arrested him.The attack occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. local time. Police said the suspect, a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish national who lives in Winterthur, was taken into custody within five minutes of being alerted by emergency services.Regional police chief Marius Werman said the suspect had previously come to the attention of authorities in 2015 for distributing propaganda linked to the Islamic State.Werman also said the man was recently admitted to a psychiatric facility after calling emergency services and making “rambunctious comments,” but was released on Wednesday after doctors determined he did not pose a risk.Three Swiss men, ages 28, 43, and 52, were injured in the stabbing incident. Authorities said two were discharged or were expected to leave the hospital later in the day, while the third remained hospitalized after surgery for a hip injury.Investigators believe the suspect acted alone.Mario Fehr, Zurich’s regional security official, described the incident as a “vicious act of terrorism.”Winterthur is located near Zurich in northeastern Switzerland, and has a population of about 123,000 people.
