German police have arrested a suspect in connection with a stabbing attack that left five people injured outside a bar in the western city of Bielefeld. The man was taken into custody late Monday in Heiligenhaus, near Düsseldorf, following a nearly two-day manhunt.
The suspect is a 35-year-old Syrian national living in Germany, according to police. The attack occurred early Sunday morning, when five men — aged 22 to 27 — were celebrating local football club Arminia Bielefeld’s promotion to the second division. The assailant reportedly attacked them at random with a sharp object outside a downtown bar. Four of the victims sustained serious injuries.
Eyewitnesses said the attacker used a bladed weapon, and forensic teams later recovered what appeared to be a walking cane equipped with a retractable blade. Authorities also discovered a backpack left behind at the scene, which contained additional knives.
Bar patrons managed to temporarily subdue the attacker, injuring his face in the struggle, but he fled the scene on foot.
