Federal Police: Number of knife attacks at train stations further high

There were a total of 609 knife attacks at German train stations or associated areas in 2024. This was shared by the federal police at the request of the star with. In 487 cases, the attack passed directly at train stations, stops or at the S-Bahn stops (which, in contrast to the subway, also falls into the area of ​​responsibility of the federal police). The attack took place 121 times on the open route, once at a train outside a train station.

This makes the number of knife attacks on train stations and trains slightly declining, but remains at a high level. In 2023, the federal police registered a total of 639 such acts.

The number of cases has increased in which the federal police found a knife carried out during controls: 343. For comparison: 298 knives were registered the year before ,.

The federal police point out that a knife carried “has a significant risk situation for the potential victim, since a fatal or life -threatening stitch must be expected at any time”. An “openly worn knife always constitutes an immediate threat to the injured party, even if it is not actively used”.

For the period from January to April 2025, the federal police registered 210 offenses in which a knife was used and another 142, in which the knife was carried but not used.

One of the most severe attacks of this kind occurred on May 23 of this year at Hamburg Central Station. A 39-year-old German stabbed travelers indiscriminately and sometimes seriously injured 18 people. The perpetrator was released from a closed psychiatric facility the day before.