2026 Winterthur stabbing attack

2026 Winterthur stabbing attack
LocationWinterthur, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland
Date28 May 2026
Targetbus riders
Attack type
mass stabbing
Deaths0
Injured3

On 28 May 2026, three people were stabbed at the Winterthur railway station in Winterthur, Switzerland. The accused, a dual Swiss-Turkish national, was later arrested at the scene. The incident was characterized by local authorities as an "act of terror".

Incident

The earliest reports of the attack occurred at 08:28, in which an individual said to be shouting Allahu Akbar (Arabic for "God is great") used a knife and stabbed three victims at the Winterthur railway station. Blick reported that it had obtained video of the attack, showing a man believed to be the perpetrator shouting as he left the station building.

The three Swiss victims, all male, were hospitalised for a time as a result of the incident. A 28-year-old stabbed in the leg and a 43-year-old man with a neck injury were discharged after treatment, while a 52-year-old stabbed in the thigh was hospitalised after having been operated upon for his injuries. A group of schoolchildren nearby fled, but were not harmed.

Alleged perpetrator

A dual Swiss-Turkish citizen, age 31, identified as Nesip Dedeler, was arrested at the scene by police at 08:33. Authorities called the incident an "act of terror" and stated that they believed that the attacker had acted alone. Police officials said that the designation as an act of terror was exceptional and that the intent behind the crime was "in the realm of radicalization and extremism".

Dedeler was born in 1994 in Switzerland and became a naturalised citizen of the country in 2009. He had been in Turkey for the two years prior to the attack, returning to Switzerland in the month the attack occurred. He had been examined at a psychiatric hospital on 25 May after having made "confused comments" and had been released from the facility the day before the attack, after officials there confirmed that he was no longer a danger to himself or the public. Police said that the person had been identified in 2015 as having spread propaganda for Islamic State as part of an investigation related to a mosque in Winterthur, and had faced criminal charges for his ISIS support.

Prosecution

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland announced on the day after the incident that the stabbing attack was being treated as a potential act of terrorism and that charges were being considered for attempted murder and for supporting a terrorist organisation.

Swiss authorities seized electronic devices belonging to the individual arrested in the incident and are seeking to have the devices unlocked in order to investigate possible links to other individuals or groups.

Reactions

Federal president Guy Parmelin said that he was "shocked by the terrorist attack" and expressed his hope that the victims would recover.

The Islamic Central Council of Switzerland condemned what it called a "cowardly and barbaric act".

References

  1. 1 2 3 "'Terrorist' knife attack wounds three at Swiss train station", Le Monde, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "'I am exceptionally calling this a terrorist attack,' Mario Fehr, in charge of security in the Swiss canton of Zurich, told a press conference. Regional police commander Marius Weyermann agreed, telling reporters it was 'clear from the scene that the motive for this act must be sought in the realm of radicalization and extremism.... He said police had received the first emergency call at 8:28 am local time and that the suspected perpetrator was arrested by 8:33 am. The man, identified as Nesip Dedeler, had been wielding a knife and had injured three men, aged 28, 43 and 52."
  2. 1 2 3 "Man arrested after three injured in stabbing at Swiss train station", BBC, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "A man has been arrested after three people were injured in a stabbing attack at a train station in Switzerland, police said. They said the three victims - Swiss nationals aged 28, 43 and 52 - were hospitalised after the attack at Winterthur train station. The suspect, a 31-year-old Swiss man, used a bladed weapon and that the motive was under investigation, police added. An eyewitness working in an office building nearby told a local newspaper he heard a man yell 'Allahu Akbar' - meaning 'God is greatest' in Arabic - at around 08:30 local time before attacking people with a knife."
  3. 1 2 "Attacker injures three with knife at Swiss train station", CNN, 28 May 2026. Accessed 30 May 2026. "Swiss newspaper Blick ⁠said it had obtained a video showing a man running out of the station concourse shouting 'Allahu Akbar,' an Arabic phrase meaning God is ⁠great."
  4. 1 2 3 4 via Agence France-Presse. "Attacker wounds three at Swiss train station with 'bladed weapon'", France 24, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "Images broadcast by several Swiss media outlets and on social media showed a man with long dark hair and a full beard running in front of the station shouting "Allahu akbar!" (God is the greatest), while raising his right hand.... "I heard a man scream 'Allahu akbar' five or six times, in a very agitated manner," a young man who witnessed the chaos that ensued told Blick, which did not provide his name. The witness described how the young children and other bystanders had 'run across the road' in panic."
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Man stabs 3 people at Swiss train station in what authorities call an ‘act of terror’ Officials described the attack as “an evil act of terror” and said the suspect had come to authorities’ attention in 2015 for distributing propaganda of the Islamic State group.", NBC News, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "He had come to authorities’ attention in 2015 for distributing propaganda of the Islamic State group, Weyermann added. In recent days, he was taken to a psychiatric facility after calling the police emergency number and making 'confused comments,' but he left on Wednesday after a doctor determined that he wasn’t dangerous. Three Swiss men, ages 28, 43 and 52, were wounded in Thursday’s attack. The first two were discharged or were about to be released from hospitals by mid-afternoon, Weyermann said. The oldest was still hospitalized after an operation on a thigh injury. Weyermann said investigators believe the man acted alone."
  6. 1 2 3 "Swiss train station stabbings declared ‘terrorist attack’", SWI swissinfo, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "Marius Weyermann, commander of the Zurich cantonal police, described him as a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual citizen from Winterthur. The man is known to the police and was a suspect in connection with the investigations against the An’Nur Mosque in Winterthur ten years ago. At that time, the man was charged with violating a criminal ban on the terror group ISIS. According to Mario Fehr, the suspect was born in Switzerland in 1994 and naturalised in 2009. In 2024, he moved to Turkey and, according to the authorities, only reappeared in Switzerland in May 2026."
  7. 1 2 "Swiss police say knife attack at station was act of terrorism", Reuters, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "A knife attack at a Swiss train station that left three people injured was an act of terrorism, police said on Thursday, after arresting a suspect who had previously been reported for spreading Islamic State propaganda. Police said they had arrested the alleged perpetrator, a 31-year-old dual Swiss-Turkish national, from Winterthur, a city to the north of Zurich."
  8. ↑ "Man stabs 3 people at Swiss train station in what authorities call an 'act of terror'", The Washington Post, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "A man stabbed and wounded three people in what authorities described as an 'act of terror' at the train station in the Swiss city of Winterthur on Thursday before being arrested."
  9. ↑ "Swiss federal prosecutors probe terror links to knife attack", Reuters, 29 May 2026. Accessed 31 May 2026. "Swiss federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation into Thursday's knife attack at Winterthur railway station and are treating the case as suspected terrorism, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Friday. The federal prosecutor said it had opened criminal proceedings against the suspected attacker on suspicion of multiple attempted murder and participation in, or support for, a terrorist organisation."
  10. ↑ "Nesip D. lässt sein Handy und seinen Laptop versiegeln", 20 Minuten, June 7, 2026. Accessed June 7, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Three wounded in Swiss train station stabbing labelled ‘act of terror’ Swiss authorities arrest suspect who had come to authorities’ attention in 2015 for distributing ISIL propaganda.", Al Jazeera English, 28 May 2026. Accessed 28 May 2026. "Swiss President Guy Parmelin said he was 'shocked by the terrorist attack … This deeply affects me'. 'I wish the three injured a swift and full recovery. And I thank the emergency services for their work.' Reacting to the attack, Switzerland’s Islamic Central Council (IZR) said in a statement that it 'strongly condemns this cowardly and barbaric act'."