2023 Brokstedt train stabbing

The RB train RE 70 number 11223 was a passenger train which departed from Kiel with the destination of Hamburg. At the time of the attack, the train carried about 70 passengers. Shortly before the train was about to pull into Brokstedt train station at 14:54, passengers noticed the perpetrator taking off his jacket and doing stretching exercises, before he went to stand in a doorway, actively blocking others from exiting. When the train came to a halt, the perpetrator began indiscriminately stabbing fellow passengers with a knife he had hidden in a sports bag. The first emergency calls came in at 14:56. As the attack happened immediately before a scheduled stop, the train's doors were automatically opened to the platform, where around 50 people were present. The perpetrator and an injured woman exited the cart, with the former reentering the train through another entrance. Inside, the perpetrator attacked 21-year-old Felix Gerike, who had boarded the train in search of a first aid kit, leading to a struggle. Gerike was stabbed and slashed ten times and bitten on the nose before he managed to restrain his attacker by the wrists. Other bystanders grabbed the perpetrator from behind and were able to disarm him before the perpetrator fled the train. The station was shut down to facilitate the ongoing emergency response efforts. The perpetrator was arrested at 15:16 and taken to hospital for light injuries. == Victims ==

Two people were killed and five were injured, three critically and two with life-threatening wounds. The deceased victims were identified as a romantic couple, 17-year-old Ann-Marie Kyrath and 19-year-old Danny Preuß, both from Neumünster. Kyrath was stabbed 27 times while Preuß was stabbed 12 times, dying after a single stab wound to the heart while attempting to shield his girlfriend. Three of those stabbed were passengers on the train while two had boarded after the attack began. Three of the injured had to be put into an artificial coma after the attack. One of the severely injured, a 54-year-old woman who had previously been diagnosed with chronic depression, died by suicide four months after the stabbing. ==Perpetrator==

The perpetrator was 33-year-old Ibrahim A., a stateless refugee originally from the Palestinian territories. He was born in 1989 as one of seven children in the Gaza Strip, where he worked as a fisherman and construction worker. Following the deaths of his parents in 2010 and 2012, Ibrahim A. left Gaza, claiming Hamas had threatened his life since he did not closely observe his Muslim faith. Hamas had previously killed one of his uncles and also tortured A. and other relatives with burns and cuts. Via Turkey and Belgium, he arrived in Germany on 24 December 2014 and applied for asylum on 22 January 2015 in North Rhine-Westphalia, citing persecution by Hamas. He lived in Bad Münstereifel, where a social worker described Ibrahim A. as "naïve and childish", frequently talking about wanting to learn German, find work, and own a dog and an apartment. Ibrahim A. started training as a geriatric nurse, but never finished after he started using drugs. Prior criminal record From September 2015 to January 2021, there had been 24 preliminary and criminal proceedings against Ibrahim A. The charges listed included theft, fraud, dangerous bodily harm, drugs, sexual harassment, damage to property, child abuse, rape of persons unfit to resist, driving without a license, and trespassing. Most of these proceedings were discontinued, but four resulted in convictions. In 2015, he was convicted of theft for shoplifting a perfume bottle worth €30 and received a monetary fine. By 2021, Ibrahim A. was terminated from nurse training for drug use and kicked out of his refugee accommodation for fighting. He was not known to be on any extremist watch lists. On 19 January 2023, Ibrahim A. was released, as he had completed serving his one-year sentence, and a decision on appeal was not expected in the foreseeable future. Proceedings were ongoing against him for assault. Six days later, the knife attack happened in Brokstedt. He had stolen the kitchen knife used in the attack at a supermarket in Kiel. Motivation The prosecutor's office did not assume a terrorist background, although Ibrahim A. was said to have compared himself with Anis Amri. Rather, they saw the motive for the crime as anger and frustration at his personal situation. The assessment was held that Ibrahim A. was still fit to stand trial. A. was charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder. On 15 April 2024, the Itzehoe District Court sentenced Ibrahim A. to life in prison. ==Reactions==

On 22 February 2023, the Schleswig-Holsteinischer Landtag deliberated a proposal Lessons from the Brockstedt case: Improving communication with the authorities and establishing consistent deportation. Considerable shortcomings in the communication and administration of the authorities involved in immigration were found. In April 2025, Felix Gerike and seven others were awarded a Livesaving Medal (Lebensrettungsmedallie) for their part in stopping the perpetrator. ==See also==