3 wounded in blade attack at Swiss railway station

A man reportedly shouting “Allahu akbar!” injured three people with a bladed weapon at a railway station near Zurich on Thursday, before being arrested, Swiss police said.

Witnesses described scenes of panic and confusion when the man, who police said was a 31-year-old Swiss national, suddenly began stabbing people at the main railway station in Winterthur – Switzerland’s sixth largest city – during the morning rush hour.

“Shortly after 8.30am, a man injured three people with a bladed weapon” at the station, police for Zurich canton said in a statement.

They said the suspected perpetrator had been arrested and that his “motive is under investigation”.

Images broadcast by several Swiss media outlets and on social media showed a man with long dark hair and a full beard running in front of the station shouting “Allahu akbar!” (God is the greatest), while raising his right hand.

Several witnesses quoted by Swiss media said he was armed with a knife.