‘Completely unprovoked’: Police officer injured in reported knife attack in Stockholm
A police officer has been injured in a reported knife attack in central Stockholm. Police have detained the suspected assailant and said the attack was “completely” unprovoked.
The reported stabbing took place at around 10:40am local time on Thursday at Björns Trädgård park, just across the road from one of the largest squares in the Swedish capital, according to local media reports.
A police officer received“non-life threatening injuries” after reportedly being stabbed in the neck with a knife, according to national broadcaster SVT.
"As it seems right now, it was completely unprovoked,"said Stockholm police spokesman Lars Byström.
Officers arrested one man in connection with the attack and launched a preliminary investigation on the basis of attempted murder.
🔴 #Stockholm#MedborgarPlatsen meydanında bıçaklı saldırı! Olayda bir polisin yaralandığı bildirildi! pic.twitter.com/b8mRjsF2Zg
— ÇapaMag (@CapaMag) 31 августа 2017 г.
Witnesses say that they saw police officers detaining a man in his 30s after the incident as the entire area was on lockdown, Aftonbladet newspaper reported.
Stockholm police confirmed the attack to RT and said that one officer was hospitalized. They did not confirm whether the attacker had a knife or any other details of the incident as the investigation is ongoing.
SVT SÄNDER LIVE: Polisman knivskuren i nacken - en person gripen https://t.co/TKDHupP9OD#svtnyheterstockholm#svtnyheter#medborgarplatsenpic.twitter.com/IElOGRD8ek
— SVT Stockholm (@svtstockholm) 31 августа 2017 г.
“One police officer has been attacked, he was sent to the hospital, but I suppose he will leave the hospital very soon, so it wasn't so bad,” a police spokesperson told RT.
The police officer has been already discharged, the hospital said, according to Aftonbladet.
It is unclear if the incident is related to terrorism.
Knife attacks occurred in several European cities in August. Last week, a knife-wielding man shouting “Allahu Akbar” attacked a group of soldiers in the center of Brussels, injuring two of them. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claimed responsibility for the assault, which is being treated as “terrorist act” by Belgium.
On August 18, two people were killed and six injured in a knife attack in the Finnish city of Turku, which is being investigated as a terrorist incident. On the same day, one person was killed and another injured in a stabbing attack in the German city of Wuppertal.
On August 5, a man carrying a knife and reportedly shouting “Allahu Akbar” was arrested near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. No one was injured in the incident, and a terrorism investigation is reportedly underway.
