Anti-terror forces were quickly summoned to the scene following the rampage, multiple outlets reported Thursday evening. Trains have suspended travel to the Dusseldorf station.
— なるるるる (@narurururu6) March 9, 2017
The attacker has been arrested, but police had yet to pin down the motive. Later, police said the suspect seems to have psychological problems. The Dusseldorf police have stated that the arrested suspect "is seriously injured in the hospital."
— Rüdiger Vogel (@MustafaVogel) March 9, 2017
Der Spiegel, a German news outlet, reported that victims were seen lying on the ground bleeding.
— WorldOnAlert (@worldonalert) March 9, 2017
Germany suffered from a terror attack shortly before Christmas when a truck slammed into a crowded market that killed 12 people while injuring 48. It is not clear whether the current attack will be deemed part of a terrorist operation.
Local police have since corrected an earlier report from federal police that said there were two assailants, and now confirm there was only one assailant. Dusseldorf police spokeswoman Anja Kynast said police do not have concrete details at this juncture regarding whether other attackers were involved.
— Joel Gerhold (@jgerhold) March 9, 2017
Dusseldorf is north of Cologne and is situated near the western border of Germany close to Belgium and the Netherlands.
— Naeun Kim (@Naeun_K) March 9, 2017
Police have been on the lookout for a 19-year-old male who has been accused of stabbing and killing a 9-year-old before posting and bragging about the incident on the deep web. It is not clear whether the man on the run was involved with the attacks on people at the Dusseldorf train station, but he was suspected to be armed.
Earlier on Thursday, German experts defused a five-ton bomb in Dusseldorf which had prompted the evacuation of 8,000 people and caused rail lines to shut down.
An eyewitness told a local newspaper, Bilde, "We were standing on the track, waiting for the train. The train came, and suddenly someone jumped out with an axe, hit the people…there was blood everywhere. I have experienced a lot, but I have never experienced it."
— Tom (@GeordieTommy_) March 9, 2017
— DC (@fxcplus) March 9, 2017
