WURZBURG, GERMANY — A 17-year-old Afghan refugee attacked passengers with an ax and a knife on a commuter train in southern Germany before he was shot dead by police on Monday night. <br /> <br />Four passengers were injured, three of them severely, as the train traveled between the towns of Treuchtlingen and Wurzburg, Deutsche Welle reported, citing local authorities. <br /> <br />Four members of the same Hong Kong family were injured in the attack, according to the South China Morning Post. The severity of their injuries was unclear. <br /> <br />Fourteen passengers were treated for shock. <br /> <br />“[The attacker] suddenly attacked passengers with a knife and an ax, critically injuring several. Some of them may now be fighting for their lives,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said. <br /> <br />The assailant shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), according to reports, but authorities said they could not confirm if the incident was an Islamist attack. <br /> <br />The attacker was shot dead by police after he fled the train. <br /> <br />The teenager had traveled to Germany unaccompanied to seek asylum and had been living with a foster family in the nearby town of Ochsenfurt for some time, authorities said.
