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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Caroline Mortimer

German machete attack: Syrian refugee kills woman and injures two others near Stuttgart

A woman has been killed and two others have been injured after they were attacked by a Syrian refugee with a machete near Stuttgart in Germany.

Police have arrested a man in connection with the attack in the small city of Reutlingen in the south-west of the country.

German newspaper Bild reported the man struck outside a kebab shop at around 4:30pm local time, causing several witnesses to flee in panic.

An eyewitness told the tabloid: "The attacker was completely out of his mind. He ran with the machete behind a police patrol car."

He said a passing BMW managed to run him over and afterwards he "lay prostrate on the ground and didn't move".

The police has confirmed the attacker was a 21-year-old Syrian refugee but have not released his name. The motive for the attack is unclear.

In a statement,they said the man was known to police but they suspect he is a "lone operator" and did not think people in and around the city are at risk. 

Police spokesman Bjoern Reusch said later that the man had been arguing with the woman before he killed her.

It comes as Germany is on edge following two attacks in the past week. 

A teenager went on a rampage in a Munich mall on Friday evening, killing nine, and an Afghan teenager attacked train passengers with an axe in Bavaria, wounding five, before being shot dead by police last week.

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