Attack on children Zurich-Oerlikon knife attacker must be remanded in custody

The 23-year-old Chinese man who injured three after-school children in Oerlikon ZH has been remanded in custody. The compulsory measures court has followed the request of the public prosecutor's office.

The court had already ordered the pre-trial detention on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Zurich public prosecutor's office announced on Thursday at the request of Keystone-SDA. The spokesman did not make any further statements about the background to the crime.

The man had suddenly attacked a group of after-school children with a knife on Tuesday afternoon. A five-year-old boy was seriously injured and two other five-year-olds suffered moderate injuries. As the public prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday, all the children are out of danger.

An after-school care worker and a passer-by were able to overpower and detain the attacker until the police arrived. They are currently assuming that the attacker was a lone perpetrator. Even the day after the crime, there were no indications of accomplices.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the 23-year-old confessed. It remains unclear why he attacked the children. The Chinese man had been a student in Zurich since summer 2023.