African Migrant Arrested After 8-Year-Old Child Pushed in Front of Train Dies
Man pushes young boy and mother in front of moving train in Frankfurt, Germany
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An African migrant has been arrested on murder charges in Germany after allegedly pushing a mother and her 8-year-old from a station platform in front of a moving train, killing the child in the process, according to reports.
The incident took place around 10 am on Monday morning at Frankfurt’s central railway station.
Horrified witnesses allegedly saw the African randomly target the woman and her son, pushing them off platform 7 in front of an InterCity Express train, according to German tabloid Bild.
The attacker reportedly attempted to throw a third victim onto the tracks but was unsuccessful.
The boy’s mother managed to save herself by rolling into a narrow gap between tracks but lost hold of her son who was fatally hit by the oncoming train.
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Local reports say the man, dressed in black trousers and an olive T-shirt, attempted to flee after failing to push a third victim off the platform of the busy station, which eyewitnesses say was full of children at the time.
Police say a 40-year-old man, identified as a migrant from Eritrea in northeast Africa, was arrested near the station.
There appears to be no connection between the suspect and his victims, according to investigators.
Police told Bild: “The mother was barely able to save herself.
"Passersby watched the attack and ran after the fleeing man, of African descent.
"He was arrested in the station.”
Commuters at the station “howled” after seeing the child fall to his death, as police, fire brigades, 16 ambulances, and a helicopter arrived at the hectic train station in Germany’s financial capital.
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Several witnesses needed medical treatment after seeing the death, hessenschau.de reported.
A conductor, who saw the incident from a train, shouted as it was happening.
The station was “full of children” a witness told the publication.
Four of the station's tracks were closed following the attack, causing delays for many commuters.
The ICE train, traveling from Dusseldorf the Munich, is capable of running at speeds of up to 186mph (300kmph).
It comes just a week after a 34-year-old mother was killed when she was pushed in front of a train in Voerde station, near Duisburg.
A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the murder.
In that incident, the victim and the suspect did not know each other, according to police.
Prosecutors in the case say the suspect killed the woman because he has “lust for murder.”
