A German court has sent a man who injured 10 people when he indiscriminately struck passers-by with an axe at Dusseldorf’s main train station has been permanently committed to a psychiatric clinic. The presiding judge in the city of Dusseldorf said that the 37-year-old, who hails from Kosovo, was suffering a schizophrenic episode when he committed the acts and is therefore not criminally responsible.
The man, who was granted asylum in 2009, went after passengers on a local train in March before also swinging the axe at members of the public in the station’s main hall. Those injured included a 13-year-old girl from Dusseldorf and two Italian tourists.
The attack began on board a commuter train. A passenger was able to shove the assailant out of the train. Following the attack, the man fled and injured himself jumping from a bridge to avoid detainment by police.
In July 2016, a 17-year-old asylum seeker, carrying a knife and an axe, launched a similar attack on a regional train near the city of Wuerzburg, injuring five.
