A 21-year-old Syrian man accused of attacking passengers with an axe on a long-distance train went on trial in Germany on Tuesday.
The man injured two people on an ICE express train on July 3, 2025 when it was travelling near the south-eastern town of Strasskirchen, according to investigators.
A passenger suffered a serious head injury when he tried to make an emergency call.
A woman who stepped in front of her son to shield him from the attacker was also inured.
The son and other passengers managed to overpower the perpetrator, who was also seriously injured in the process.
Prosecutors have charged the 21-year-old with attempted manslaughter and grievous bodily harm.
The man did not address the court on the first day of the trial at the Regensburg regional court.
The 52-year-old woman who was injured in the attack was the first to testify at the trial on Tuesday, recalling how she had asked a fellow passenger and her son to make an emergency call.
She said the Syrian, whom she said she didn't know, then knocked down the other man before approaching the area where she was seated with her three children.
When she got up to shield her children, she was hit with the axe in the head, she reported.
Prosecutors believe the defendant is suffering from a mental illness and therefore cannot be held criminally responsible for the incident.
They have requested for him to be permanently placed in a psychiatric ward, as they consider him to pose a danger to the public.
The court has scheduled six trials dates, with a verdict expected in July.
