Frankfurt: A 40-year-old Eritrean man pushed an eight-year-old boy in front of an oncoming train at Frankfurt's main train station in Germany on Monday, killing him, police said.

The man also pushed the boy's mother but she survived. Police were unaware of any connection between the man and the victims and his motive was unclear, a police spokeswoman said.

"According to witness reports, a 40-year-old man pushed the boy and his mother onto the track just as the ICE (high-speed train) was arriving. The mother, thank God, was able to save herself," the spokeswoman, Isabell Neumann, told reporters.

"Unfortunately, the eight-year-old boy was run over by the ICE. He suffered fatal injuries," she added. "The man concerned ... fled the station after the crime. Passers-by took up the chase and the man was detained near the station."

Neumann said the suspect was being questioned. The boy's mother was taken to hospital and would also be questioned. Frankfurt police said on Twitter the suspected perpetrator was an Eritrean citizen.

Several platforms at Frankfurt station, a major rail hub in Germany, were closed after the incident. </s> Parts of Frankfurt main station where the incident occurred were closed off by police.

Parts of Frankfurt main station where the incident occurred were closed off by police.

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD boy died when a man pushed him and his mother in front of a train in Germany’s Frankfurt railway station, police said.

The suspect, a 40-year-old man of African origin who was unrelated to the victims, ran off but was overpowered by passers-by and detained by police.

The woman, who is also 40, was being treated in hospital after narrowly escaping from the tracks as an arriving ICE highspeed train ran over the child.

Police said they had opened a murder inquiry and were questioning the suspect for a possible motive.

“The boy and his mother were pushed in front of an arriving train. The mother was able to save herself,” a police spokeswoman said.

Passers-by ran after the fleeing man who, reports said, had tried but failed to push a third person onto the tracks, and who was arrested near the station.

The suspect is believed to be Eritrean, said Hesse state interior minister Peter Beuth.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer broke off his summer holiday because of the killing, saying he planned to meet with the heads of major security authorities.

“The background to this heinous crime is still unclear,” he said.

“It is now the task of the investigating authorities to clear it up as quickly and comprehensively as possible. The perpetrator will be held responsible for the crime by all legal means.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party quickly linked the case to a mass influx of migrants and refugees in recent years.

“The hideousness of this act can hardly be surpassed,” wrote the party’s Alice Weidel on Twitter, demanding that the government “finally start to protect the citizens of this country”.

A similar attack took place 10 days earlier when a 34-year-old woman was killed after being pushed in front of a train by a man in Voerde, near Duisburg. </s> (FRANKFURT, Germany) — An 8-year-old boy was run over by a train and killed at Frankfurt’s main station on Monday after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks, German police said. The woman and her son were pushed onto the tracks as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, one of Germany’s busiest. The mother was able to escape but the boy was hit and run over by the train and suffered fatal injuries.

The suspect then apparently tried unsuccessfully to push another person onto the track, police said.

The 40-year-old suspect fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit and was arrested near the station. He was being questioned and there was no immediate information on his possible motive.

Police spokeswoman Isabell Neumann said there appeared to be no connection between the suspect and the victims.

The boy’s mother was taken to a hospital and also was being questioned. There was no immediate information on her injuries.

Police said that the suspect is an Eritrean citizen but did not immediately release further information.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer issued a statement condemning “this appalling act in the strongest terms” and cautioning against drawing conclusions before more is known. Seehofer said that in view of “several serious crimes” recently, he would interrupt his vacation and meet the heads of security authorities Tuesday.

He didn’t specify what he was referring to, but Monday’s incident followed a case earlier this month in which a 34-year-old woman was pushed in front of a train and killed in Voerde in northern Germany. The suspect in that case, a German-born Serb, is in custody. </s> Firefighters and Police officers stay next to an ICE highspeed train at the main station in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, July 29, 2019. German police say a child has died after apparently being pushed onto the tracks in front of a train at Frankfurt’s main station. Frankfurt police tweeted that they believe a man pushed the child onto the track Monday. They said that one person was arrested and they are investigating whether he was the perpetrator. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — An 8-year-old boy was run over by a train and killed at Frankfurt’s main station on Monday after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks, German police said.

The mother and then the boy were pushed onto the tracks as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, one of Germany’s busiest. The mother was able to escape but the boy was hit and run over by the train and suffered fatal injuries.

The suspect then apparently tried unsuccessfully to push another person onto the track, police said.

The 40-year-old suspect fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit and was arrested near the station. He was being questioned and there was no immediate information on his possible motive.

Police spokeswoman Isabell Neumann said there appeared to be no connection between the suspect and the victims.

The boy’s mother was taken to a hospital and also was being questioned. There was no immediate information on her injuries.

Police said that the suspect is an Eritrean citizen but did not immediately release further information.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer issued a statement condemning “this appalling act in the strongest terms” and cautioning against drawing conclusions before more is known.

Seehofer said that in view of “several serious crimes” recently, he would interrupt his vacation and meet the heads of security authorities Tuesday.

He didn’t specify what he was referring to, but Monday’s incident followed a case earlier this month in which a 34-year-old woman was pushed in front of a train and killed in Voerde in northern Germany. The suspect in that case, a German-born Serb, is in custody. </s> German authorities have opened a murder investigation against a man who pushed an eight-year-old boy and his mother in front of an oncoming train in a Frankfurt station on Monday, according to reports.

The 40-year-old man from Eritrea is being investigated on charges of murder and attempted murder after he was arrested outside the station following the incident, according to media reports.

Shocked bystanders watched as the man pushed the boy and his mother onto the tracks. The boy was killed by the impact of the train, while his mother survived after she rolled out of harm’s way into a narrow space beside the rails.

After the incident, the man attempted to run away from the station but was stopped by bystanders until police officers arrested him.

In a press conference after the incident, German authorities said the man had also unsuccessfully attempted to push another woman, 78, onto the tracks.

The man, named only as A. by German police, had been living in Switzerland since 2008, where he was granted asylum after fleeing his native Eritrea.

Media reports on Tuesday revealed that he is married with three children and that he did not know any of his victims.

While German officials said that the man had a steady job and was considered to be “well-integrated” into Swiss society, he had recently been on the radar of Swiss police after reportedly threatening a neighbour for unclear reasons.

The man is thought to have travelled to Frankfurt a few days before the incident, but the motives behind his actions remain unclear.

German news agency dpa said that he was going to be submitted to a psychiatric test and police have ruled out that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the attack.

Additional media reports say that there is no evidence that the incident is linked with the recent shooting of another Eritrean national by a far-right sympathizer in a town east of Frankfurt.

The incident shocked Germany and the world, and people in Frankfurt have been laying flowers and candles at the site of the incident, with a memorial planned later on Tuesday. </s> Boy, eight, dies after he and his mother are pushed in front of train in Germany

Boy, eight, dies after he and his mother are pushed in front of train in Germany

The eight-year-old boy was pushed in front of a high-speed train at Frankfurt's main station

An eight-year-old-boy has been killed after he and his mother were pushed into the path of an oncoming train at Frankfurt's main station..

A man pushed the pair onto the tracks as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, police said.

The mother managed to save herself but the young boy was hit and run over by the train, suffering fatal injuries.

The 40-year-old suspect unsuccessfully tried to push a third person onto the tracks before attempting to flee the scene.

He was chased by passers-by and arrested near the station.

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Police said they do not currently have a motive but a spokeswoman said the suspect and the victims did not appear to know one another.

Detectives are questioning the man.

Image: A 40-year-old suspect was arrested near the scene

The boy's mother was taken to hospital and also questioned, although it was not clear how badly she was injured.

Isabell Neumann, of Frankfurt Police, said: "Shortly before 10am an ICE [train] arrived on platform seven and ran over an eight-year-old boy.

"We have to at this point assume that it was attempted murder.

"Witnesses relayed the information that a 40-year-old man pushed the boy and his mother onto the tracks while the ICE was rolling into the station.

"The eight-year-old boy was caught by the train and run over. He suffered fatal injuries." </s> An eight-year-old boy has been run over by a train and killed after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks at the central station in Frankfurt, Germany this morning.

Tragedy struck as a high-speed train was pulling into the platform, with the boy dying while his mum managed to roll into a narrow gap between tracks, The Sun reports.

Police spokeswoman Isabell Neumann said the mother was able to escape but the boy was fatally hit and died from his injuries.

A 40-year-old migrant from Eritrea, Africa, fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit at around 10am. He had been living in Switzerland since 2006.

He was arrested shortly after near the station and questioned by police but his motive remains unclear.

The man tried to push a third person onto the track but was unable to overpower them, BILD reported.

Neumann said there appeared to be no connection between the suspect and the victims.

The boy's mother was taken to a hospital.

There was no immediate information on her injuries.

Dramatic scenes unfolded in the station hall with 16 ambulances and a helicopter on site.

One witness who was sitting in an incoming train from Dusseldorf told German publication Hennenscha commuters "collapsed".

"The people broke down howling," the witness said.

Another said the train station was full of children.

The unnamed boy is the second person to die after being pushed onto railway track in Germany in two weeks.

On July 20, a 34-year-old woman was pushed in front of a regional train at Voerde station in North Rhine-Westphalia.

She died from her injuries.

A 28-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of her murder.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished here with permission. </s> Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

FRANKFURT, Germany — An 8-year-old boy was run over by a train and killed at Frankfurt's main station on Monday after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks, German police said.

The mother and then the boy were pushed onto the tracks as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, one of Germany's busiest. The mother was able to escape but the boy was hit and run over by the train and suffered fatal injuries.

The suspect then apparently tried unsuccessfully to push another person onto the track, police said.

The 40-year-old suspect fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit and was arrested near the station. He was being questioned and there was no immediate information on his possible motive.

Police spokeswoman Isabell Neumann said there appeared to be no connection between the suspect and the victims.

The boy's mother was taken to a hospital and also was being questioned. There was no immediate information on her injuries. </s> An eight-year-old boy has been hit and killed by a train at Frankfurt’s main station after a man pushed him and his mother onto the tracks, German police said.

The boy was killed on Monday as a high-speed ICE train was pulling into the station, one of Germany’s busiest.

The child's mother was able to escape but the boy was hit and run over by the train and suffered fatal injuries, police spokesperson Isabell Neumann said.

The 40-year-old suspect fled the scene with passers-by in pursuit and was arrested near the station, police said.
An eight-year-old boy is killed and his mother injured after being pushed by a man into the path of an oncoming train at Frankfurt's main station, in Hesse, Germany. The attacker, a 40-year-old immigrant Eritrean man who lives in Switzerland, also attempted to knock a third person onto the tracks. The suspect and the victims did not know each another.