Today's Edition
Hamburg (dpa)
The suspect in the recent knife attack at Hamburg's central train station was released from a psychiatric hospital on the day prior to the stabbing, officials said on Sunday.
The 39-year-old woman had been treated in a psychiatric institution in the northern German city of Cuxhaven for three weeks after she was found in a state of helplessness in early May, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in the state of Lower Saxony said.
According to the clinic, the woman was released because there were no medical findings at the time of her discharge to justify further treatment.
Authorities did not comment on the nature of her illness, citing privacy concerns and medical confidentiality.
Before patients are released from a psychiatric ward, doctors have to consider whether they could pose a danger to themselves or others.
A total of 18 people were injured in the stabbing at Hamburg's central station on Friday evening, with the suspect arrested at the scene.
A magistrate later ordered her to be placed in psychiatric care.
