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 an “act of terror” before he was arrested by police.
The attack took place shortly before 8:30 am local time. Police said the suspect, a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual national living in Winterthur, was taken into custody within five minutes of emergency services being alerted.
Regional police chief Marius Weyermann said the suspect had previously come to authorities’ attention in 2015 for distributing propaganda linked to the Islamic State group.
Weyermann also said the man had recently been admitted to a psychiatric facility after calling emergency services and making “confused comments”, but left on Wednesday after doctors determined he was not a danger.
Three Swiss men aged 28, 43 and 52 were injured in the stabbing. Authorities said two had been discharged or were expected to leave hospital later in the day, while the third remained hospitalised after surgery for a thigh injury.
Investigators believe the suspect acted alone.
Zurich regional security official Mario Fehr described the incident as “an evil act of terror”.
Winterthur, located near Zurich in northeastern Switzerland, has a population of around 123,000 people.
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