Female attacker injures five in stabbing attack on bus in Germany

German Press Agency

BERLIN – Five people have been injured, three of them critically, in a stabbing on board a bus in the western German city of Siegen, police said on Friday evening. A 32-year-old female suspect has been arrested, police said.

Another person suffered serious injuries, it said.

At least 40 people were on the bus traveling to a city festival in Siegen, located some 40 miles east of Cologne, when the attack occurred at around 7:40 p.m. local time, according to the statement.

The incident comes exactly one week after the fatal stabbing in the western German city of Solingen, where a knife-wielding attacker killed three people and injured eight.

The suspected perpetrator, a 26-year-old Syrian citizen, is in custody. The Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the crime, although German authorities are still investigating the credibility of the claim.

Police in Siegen appealed to citizens “not to spread false reports on social networks or other channels, and in particular not to make any reference to a terrorist attack.”

There was no information suggesting such a motive, they added.

Police were still on site in the evening. The crime scene has been cordoned off, evidence is being secured and witnesses are being questioned, according to the statement.