A 22-year-old Syrian man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a ticket vendor multiple times at the Dortmund main train station on the previous day. The incident occurred in the late morning, reportedly following a verbal dispute over a public transportation ticket.
According to the Dortmund State Prosecutor, the dispute started when the Syrian man attempted to extend his bus ticket at a VRR ticket counter, but the process was not completed and the reasons for the escalation are still unknown. The prosecutor stated, “It was about the extension of a bus ticket” in a media report.
The 22-year-old man returned to the ticket counter an hour later and, according to eyewitnesses, stabbed the vendor multiple times without warning. The victim was left in a life-threatening condition. As of the evening, the 56-year-old victim’s life was no longer in danger and they were even able to be questioned, according to the State Prosecutor, as reported by the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.
The attacker was apprehended by federal police officers still within the building. The Dortmund Police have launched an investigation and set up a murder commission, as the entire area is under video surveillance, providing footage of the incident, according to the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung report.