LAST UPDATE | 26 Jan 2023

A 33-YEAR-old man suspected of killing two teenagers and injuring seven other passengers on a train in northern Germany was released from pretrial detention a week ago and has previous convictions, German news outlets have reported.

The man, identified as a stateless Palestinian who came to Germany in 2014, allegedly stabbed multiple people on Wednesday afternoon on a regional train travelling from Kiel to Hamburg.

A 16-year-old girl and 19-year-old man died from their injuries, authorities said.

Other passengers overwhelmed the suspect, who was treated in hospital for slight injuries and is now in police custody, German news agency dpa said.

His criminal record includes convictions for sexual assault, dangerous bodily harm, abuse of credit cards and shoplifting, Germany newspapers Bild and Welt reported.

Police and prosecutors are investigating possible motives for the attack, which happened as the train approached the town of Brokstedt.

However, Peter Mueller-Rakow, a spokesperson for the local prosecutor’s office told AFP that “there are no indications of a terrorist background”.

The investigation into the attack and the suspect’s history was ongoing, he added.

Sabine Suetterlin-Waack, the interior minister of Schleswig-Holstein state, where Brokstedt is located, said the parents of the teenage victims have been told of their deaths.

She said investigators are working under high pressure to “gather all the facts”.

The state parliament began its session today with a minute’s silence for the attack’s victims.

With reporting by – © AFP 2023