A TOURIST has been seriously injured following a terrifying knife attack at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
The attack at around 6pm local time on Friday left a 30-year-old Spanish tourist needing emergency surgery.
Berlin police said that the victim was injured with a sharp object and transported by the fire brigade to hospital.
He underwent emergency surgery and it was later said his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening and that he is stable.
The attack took place on the northern side of the 19,000 sq metre monument made up of 2,700 grey concrete slabs, near the US Embassy.
Authorities created a blockade at the crime scene in Berlin’s Mitte district, extending between the Memorial and the US Embassy. Subsequently, they announced the apprehension of a suspect covered in blood following the initiation of a manhunt.
A “major operation” had been launched immediately after the attack to track down the perpetrator who was believed to still be armed.
Cops found blood-stained clothing at the scene which they seized as evidence.
At around 9pm local time, Berlin Police stated that a suspect had been arrested near the scene after finding him with “visible blood stains”.
They said: “Our officers have arrested a suspect near the crime scene.
“The person’s identity is being checked and the investigation is ongoing.”
Images showed the suspect surrounded by officers and held face-down on the ground.
The police later said: “Our emergency services arrested the man due to visible blood stains.
“The investigation and the crime scene work were carried out jointly by #Staatsschutz and one #Moko of our #LKA .
“A larger area around the crime scene is currently being searched for clues by additional emergency services, police dogs and the police helicopter.“
It is not clear if the victim is known to the suspect.
Dominik Pritz, Berlin fire services spokesman, mentioned that emergency services attended to six individuals who were present during the incident and suffered from shock as a result.
Florian Nath, a police spokesman, reported that upon their arrival, law enforcement found the victim with wounds consistent with a stabbing, and there were no indications of the weapon being discarded in the vicinity.
Before the arrest was made, the spokesman said that the suspect was “on the run” and “witnesses claimed to have seen a man running away.”
A local AFP reporter who was nearby, said a firetruck with a cherry picker crane was being used to try to gain a bird’s eye view of the sprawling site to look for the attacker.
Police have said “we don’t know anything about motive” as fears of violence and terror attacks rise in the country just days before the snap general election.
A Berlin spokesperson said there is currently “no indication” of a motive behind the attack and no apparent connection to the embassy or the Berlin memorial.
Berlin cops said in a statement on X: “At around 6pm, a man was seriously injured by an unknown person in the Field of Stelae at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in #Mitte.
“The injured man was taken to hospital. Rescue workers are on site caring for several people who had to witness the events.
“Investigations are ongoing at the crime scene.”
ATTACK FEARS
The incident comes just hours after a Russian teenager was arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in the German capital.
An 18-year-old had been attempting to flee Germany at the Brandenburg Airport when he was detained, Bild reported.
According to the outlet, the arrest involving riot police and specialist officers came after cops received a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency.
German police confirmed that the Russian national was detained on Thursday and put into investigative custody on Friday as they look into claims he was planning an attack.
No comment was made regarding the background of the attack or any possible motive.
Meanwhile, just hours after the stabbing in Berlin, Swedish police said they detained three men near the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, on suspicion of preparing to commit violent crime.
Police spokesperson Susanna Rinaldo told Reuters: “We are unable to comment on the potential motive.”
No suggestion has been made that these incidents are connected but tensions are high, particularly in Germany.
The nation’s security and immigration policies are under huge scrutiny before the election on Sunday.
Just days ago, the country was rocked by a suspected terror attack when an Afghan asylum seeker ploughed his car into a group of demonstrators in Munich last Thursday.
A 37-year-old mother and her two-year-old daughter were killed in the attack and injured at least 26 others.
Extremism and terror cops are probing the shocking smash, with the 24-year-old driver being arrested at the scene.
