A woman has been stabbed to death inside a Lidl supermarket in northern Germany, with a suspected attacker left seriously injured after being overpowered at the scene. Police and emergency services were called to the store in Ratzeburg, Schleswig-Holstein, at around 3.45pm on Wednesday following multiple emergency calls reporting a knife attack. The woman was reportedly attacked close to the supermarket’s checkout area while around 20 customers were inside. Two construction workers who witnessed the incident are reported to have intervened, using bottles to fight off the alleged attacker before bringing him to the ground and restraining him. Despite attempts to help the woman, she died following the attack. Police in Lübeck said a 44-year-old German man suspected of carrying out the stabbing was seriously injured during the incident. He was taken to hospital for treatment. A witness reportedly said they did not believe the suspect and victim knew each other, although investigators have not yet established a motive. The supermarket was sealed off as forensic officers and detectives began examining the scene. Police said there was no continuing danger to members of the public. A homicide investigation has now been launched by detectives working alongside the public prosecutor’s office. Authorities are expected to carry out further enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack and what led to the fatal stabbing. The incident comes less than two weeks after a 31-year-old British woman was fatally stabbed at a railway station in Rosenheim, Bavaria. She suffered severe injuries during an attack in the early hours of August 30 and later died in hospital. A 27-year-old German man was arrested near the scene.  

Originally published by UKNIP.