A 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish man stabbed three people at Winterthur train station near Zurich on the morning of May 28, 2026, police said [1, 2, 3]. The attack occurred around 8:30 a.m. local time (06:00-06:30 GMT), when the suspect suddenly attacked passengers with a bladed weapon [1, 4].
The three victims, aged 28, 43 and 52, were Swiss nationals who were hospitalized for medical treatment. One victim was seriously wounded and required surgery [1, 3, 5]. The suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the stabbing, according to multiple eyewitnesses and video evidence [1, 4, 6].
Police and emergency services responded swiftly. The suspect was arrested about five minutes after the alert was raised. A school teacher present on site helped protect passing children before police detained the man [1, 7].
Authorities identified the suspect as a Swiss-Turkish dual citizen with prior police records for distributing ISIL propaganda and a history of mental illness [8, 9]. He was discharged from a psychiatric facility the day before the attack after being assessed as not dangerous [8].
Zurich region’s top security official Mario Fehr called it "an evil act of terror" and officially classified the stabbing as a terrorist attack [8, 10]. He praised police, saying, "Police handled it very well, preventing worse things from happening" [7]. A witness taxi driver said the suspect "rushed off the ramp and tried to stab a man," adding that quick guard intervention likely prevented further harm [3]. Swiss President Guy Parmelin expressed sympathy for the victims and gratitude for emergency workers [10].
Winterthur, Switzerland’s sixth-largest city with about 123,000 residents, lies roughly 25 km northeast of Zurich [3, 10]. Authorities said an investigation continues into the incident and the suspect’s motives.
The suspect’s arrest and ongoing police probe are the latest developments in the case, which will be monitored for further updates [10].
