A knife attack early Thursday morning (around 8:30 a.m. local time, 6:00 a.m. GMT) at the train station in Winterthur, Switzerland, left three men injured. Local authorities labeled it a 'terrorist act.'
The suspect, 31, holding dual Swiss and Turkish citizenship and residing in Winterthur, was arrested just five minutes after emergency services were alerted, according to regional police chief Marius Weyermann.
Weyermann stated that the suspect had previously come to authorities' attention in 2015 for disseminating propaganda material of the ISIL (ISIS) group. In recent days, he was taken to a psychiatric facility after calling the police emergency line with 'confused comments,' but was released on Wednesday after doctors determined he posed no danger.
The three victims—Swiss nationals aged 28, 43, and 52—were hospitalized. The two younger victims have been discharged or were preparing to leave the hospital by afternoon. The oldest victim remained hospitalized after surgery for a thigh wound.
Weyermann added that investigators believe the suspect acted alone. Mario Fehr, Zurich's top security official, described the attack as 'a cruel terrorist act.' He noted that the suspect was born in Switzerland, naturalized in 2009, and had apparently spent most of the past two years in Turkey.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin expressed 'shock at the terrorist attack' and sent wishes for a speedy recovery to the victims, while thanking emergency services. The Central Islamic Council of Switzerland (IZR) also strongly condemned the act, calling ISIL a 'depraved terrorist sect' that seeks to divide and kill innocent people.
Winterthur has about 123,000 residents and is located in northeastern Switzerland, near the country's largest city, Zurich.
