Swiss Police Say Train Station Attack Was a ‘Terrorist’ Incident

(Bloomberg) — Three people were injured in a knife attack in the Swiss city of Winterthur on Thursday in what authorities have deemed a “terrorist” act.

The attack happened near the main train station in the city, about 13 miles north east of Zurich. The attacker was a 31-year-old male with Turkish and Swiss citizenship, Marius Weyermann, commander of the Zurich cantonal police, said at a briefing. The three victims were taken the hospital, but two have since been released.

“The motive of the attack has to be looked at in the context of radicalization and extremism,” said Fehr. The attacker had already been reported to the Swiss police in 2015, when he was accused of spreading propaganda linked to the IS terrorist group, he said.

The attacker had called Swiss emergency services earlier this week and was found in what police said was a “delusional state,” which led to his hospitalization in a psychiatric facility on May 25. On May 27, a doctor declared that he posed no threat to himself or others, after which he was free to leave.

The stabbings come just weeks before Switzerland is set to vote month on a proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million. The initiative has been put forward in response to what supporters have called “uncontrolled immigration.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.