Knife attack in Germany wounds 10 to 14 people.

The bus that was the site of the attack. BBC/AFP.

A knife attack on a bus in Germany has wounded between 10 and 14 people. BBC. A 34 year old man was overpowered at the scene and taken into custody. He was armed with a knife and his backpack had some kind of accelerant in it that did not go off. Police did not indicate if the man had any connection to terror organizations or was politically radicalized. 

My Comment:

Very little information in this case. You would think that a man stabbing a dozen people on a bus would get more coverage than this but I guess that isn't how things work anymore. There also hasn't been much information on why he committed this crime either. 

Of course given how censorious the German government is, there is a decent chance that we won't find out the motive in this case. If there was a religious motive for this attack we probably won't hear about it for some time. Germany likes to downplay when an Islamic attack happens. 

That doesn't mean that this was a terror attack. People do go nuts occasionally and attack large numbers of people. Given how common mass stabbings are in Europe right now it isn't surprising that someone who isn't motivated by religious zeal could commit one of these attacks. If they are doing so for attention, mimicking a terror attack is a good way to do it.  

The BBC report said that this attack was committed by a 34 year old German citizen. That doesn't mean much. The attacker could certainly still be a radical Muslim. Indeed, I have long said that 2nd and 3rd generation Muslim immigrants, who are now citizens, can be a threat. That has been the pattern here in the United States and it would not be a surprise if it happened in Germany. 

What is surprising is that nobody was killed in this case. Mass stabbings can have a very high body count, just look at China, but in this case it didn't happen. I think the x-factor is the quick response time here. The police were able to capture this attacker before he had time to finish anyone off. 

It was surprising that the man was taken alive. That might be a difference in US and German policing. A man armed with a knife currently stabbing people would likely get shot in the United States. Less than lethal force might be employed instead but there is very little chance that US officers would try and overpower an armed man like that.