Police detained an Iraqi-born man and are looking into a suspected terrorist motive after five passengers on a regional train in western Germany were stabbed with knives, authorities said Friday.

According to the news agency DPA, the train was going towards the western city of Aachen on Friday morning when a man began hitting fellow passengers “randomly and arbitrarily.”

According to Reul, the train carried around 270 passengers. According to state police, a police officer who happened to be among the passengers overcame the 31-year-old suspect with the assistance of two other passengers.

The episode was described by Reul as “a horrific crime that was averted in an extraordinary act of heroism.”

According to Reul, five persons were injured in all. The injured were being treated at nearby hospitals, according to police, and none were in severe condition.

According to Reul, the suspect was already known to authorities. However, he said that officials had not proven that the suspect’s motive for the assault was Islamist.

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