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Public prosecutor wants custody for Zurich knife attacker

Public prosecutor wants imprisonment for knife attacker from Oerlikon ZH
The public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday that all of the children injured are out of danger. Keystone-SDA

The Zurich public prosecutor's office has requested that the man who attacked and injured three children with a knife in Zurich on Tuesday afternoon be remanded in custody.

The 23-year-old man was a foreign student in Switzerland. The public prosecutor’s office applied to the compulsory measures court for pre-trial detention, it announced on Wednesday. The court now has 48 hours to decide on the application.

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The man attacked a group of children heading to an after-school care facility with a knife on Tuesday afternoon. A five-year-old boy was seriously injured and two other five-year-olds suffered moderate injuries. The public prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that all of the children are out of danger.

+ Three children hurt in stabbing at Zurich care centre

A care worker and a passerby were able to overpower the attacker and hold him until the police arrived. The authorities are currently assuming that the attacker was a lone offender.

Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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