On a bus travelling to a festival in Siegen, situated east of Cologne in Germany, six individuals were injured as a result of a knife attack instigated by a 32-year-old woman. The incident, taking place on Friday, around 7.40pm, saw a bus carrying at least 40 passengers become the scene of violence. The police have since detained the woman responsible for the attack.
The victims, who ranged from 16 to 30 years old and were all locals, consisted of three critically injured individuals, according to police reports provided on Saturday. Three victims were released from the hospital following outpatient treatment by Saturday.
Despite fears following a similar event involving a Syrian suspect in Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, which occurred a week prior, the police reassured that there was no evidence of a religious or political motivation behind this incident, and the perpetrator was a German national without immigrant background.
In the Solingen incident, where three individuals were murdered and another eight injured by a suspected Islamic extremist who had dodged deportation, the resultant public outcry spurred the government into action. They began considering stricter regulations on knife carry and more efficient deportation procedures.
The local authorities in Siegen decided to proceed with the festival as planned despite the recent, unsettling event.