Hamburg police report that a 26-year-old United Arab Emirates national was arrested after killing a 52-year-old man and stabbing six other people in an Edeka Grocery Store. Bystanders chased after and tackled the assailant before police arrived at the scene.

Man launches indiscriminate attack in a Hamburg grocery store

A 26-year-old assailant made what Hamburg police describe as a “totally unexpected’ attack in an Edeka grocery store in Hamburg, where he indiscriminately stabbed seven people with a kitchen knife. A 52-year-old man died in the stabbing attack while four other men, aged 19, 56, 57, and 64, and a woman (50) were injured.

Another person (aged 35) was also injured while chasing down and tackling the assailant. While the citizenship of the assailant is currently unclear, police spokesperson Timo Zill said the 26-year-old man was born in the United Arab Emirates, but has yet to be identified.

Bystanders tackle the suspect before police arrive

As reported by Deutsche Welle, Zill said the suspect entered the Edeka grocery store and began to attack customers with the knife before fleeing the scene. Bystanders in the store took off after the attacker, overpowering him on a street close by.

Shortly afterwards, police officers arrived at the scene and arrested the suspect. Soon after the stabbing attack, police said on Twitter that the streets surrounding the store were to be closed off, and requested that the public avoid the area.

Police are exploring all possible motives

There were initial reports of a robbery at the grocery store, but police say a robbery motive is not yet confirmed.

However, they did say in a tweet that there was only one perpetrator in the crime. Witness reports said the man shouted “Allahu Akbar” before launching his attack, but police still need to confirm that fact. Zill told local reporters that the homicide squad will be meticulously investigating the crime and its timeline to analyze the motive for the assailant’s attack.

The BBC asked a police official whether they considered this a terror attack and were told that police are in the early stages of their investigation and cannot rule anything out at this point.

German social media has been sharing an unconfirmed video of the incident, which reportedly shows a group of people using chairs in an attempt to subdue a man carrying a large kitchen knife. The assailant received minor injuries when he was taken down by the bystanders. German daily newspaper Bild published photos of the man, with a bloodied bag over his face, seated in the back of a police car.
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