Published on
A woman who stabbed 15 people in an attack at Hamburg’s central train station in northern Germany last year was ordered on Monday to be held permanently in a psychiatric hospital.
A court ruled that the 39-year-old woman, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, could not be held criminally responsible for the 23 May attack, according to a court spokesperson.
The woman stole a knife from a drug store and attacked passengers waiting on a platform in the busy station during the Friday evening rush hour, severely injuring at least four of her victims.
Two bystanders and police officers managed to subdue her and end the rampage.
The woman had been homeless since October 2024 and was sent to a psychiatric hospital shortly after her arrest, according to the court.
Evidence presented at the trial indicated that she suffered from delusions, believing that the waiting passengers had intended to kill her, the court spokesperson said.
Prosecutors had sought to have the woman permanently committed to a psychiatric hospital and the defendant reportedly accepted Monday’s verdict and does not plan an appeal.
The stabbings in Hamburg came amid a series of violent attacks across Germany, many of which had jihadist or far-right extremist motivations.
In response to previous attacks, Germany had already tightened weapons laws to ban the carrying of knives on trains and in specific areas, including Hamburg’s central train station.
Additional sources • AFP
