From BZ/dpa
After a knife attack on a woman in a Berlin bus, the police are still looking for the perpetrator.
At the same time, investigations into the background to the crime are continuing, as a police spokesman said on Thursday. According to the police, the victim is still in intensive care after an emergency operation. In the meantime, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has sparked a debate with an interview about whether there should be a knife ban on buses and trains.
The SPD politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Thursday): “We should also think about knife bans on public transport – on buses and trains. Anyone who travels by plane is not allowed to take a knife with them either.” Support for the proposal came from Deutsche Bahn. The police union (GdP), on the other hand, considers such a ban to be difficult to control.
“We would welcome a government ban on knives on trains and at stations. That can minimize the risk of crime,” said Hans-Hilmar Rischke, head of security at Deutsche Bahn, on Thursday in response to the minister’s statements. In the past few years, there have been knife attacks on the railways, resulting in injuries and deaths.
“We are missing 3,500 colleagues for security at the stations and on the trains,” said Andreas Roßkopf, responsible for the federal police at the GdP, of the “Rheinische Post” with a view to the personnel situation.
The Berlin GdP also sees problems with the implementation: According to spokesman Benjamin Jendro, they see no capacity for comprehensive and permanent controls. The demand makes sense, but can already be implemented in the conditions of carriage of Deutsche Bahn and other transport companies. “It is important that such a ban can then be implemented, which requires very personnel-intensive controls,” said the spokesman.
In the case of the critically injured woman in Berlin, the investigators are hoping for information from the population, especially from passengers on the affected bus line 327. So far, however, no one has responded to a corresponding call, said the police spokesman on Thursday. Immediately after the crime, passengers were questioned on site.
The 33-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in the knife attack last Tuesday and, according to the police, had to undergo emergency surgery. According to BZ information, the woman suffered injuries to her heart, lungs and stomach, among other things. She was operated on for ten hours. The police spokesman did not provide any information with reference to the ongoing investigation and possible knowledge of the perpetrator.
According to previous knowledge, the man suddenly stabbed the 33-year-old, who was sitting on the bus with her seven and nine-year-old daughters. According to the police, the girls were not physically injured and are in the care of the family.
A murder commission is now trying to clarify the background and motive of the crime. According to the public prosecutor’s office, according to previous knowledge, there was no previous relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.