Berlin police said they detained a man on Tuesday who attacked and injured two people in the city's Charlottenburg neighbourhood, further jolting Germany days after a deadly Christmas market attack elsewhere in the country. Police said the attacker was a Syrian citizen with residency in Sweden.
"Initial findings indicate that the suspect may have signs of mental illness and that there is not indication for a terrorist motivation," police spokeswoman Jane Berndt told The Associated Press, adding that the investigation is still ongoing.
Berlin police said they detained a man Tuesday who attacked and injured two people in the city's Charlottenburg neighborhood. (AP)A police statement called it an "attempted murder."
It said the man attacked two men in a supermarket and on a sidewalk in front of a nearby hotel shortly before noon, allegedly stabbing them with a knife he had stolen from the supermarket.
Both were taken to a hospital, and police said one was released after outpatient treatment.
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Berlin media outlets earlier reported that the man appeared to be randomly attacking.
They reported that several passers-by pounced on the attacker and overpowered him until police arrived.
Charlottenburg is a normally quiet district of the German capital.
Police said the attacker was a Syrian citizen with residency in Sweden. (AP)A Saudi doctor was arrested on murder charges.
In a separate incident on Tuesday in southwestern Germany, police shot and killed a man after he stole an excavator in the town of Grünsfeld, drove it into the front of a hardware store and slightly injured three officers who chased him, German news agency dpa reported.
The attacker was identified as a 38-year-old German.