Image Credit: Peeradon Warithkorasuth / Getty 
A 59-year-old woman was chased through the streets of Magdeburg on Sunday afternoon by a Syrian knifeman, who stabbed her to death as she fled into an office building.
As reported by Bild, the incident occurred in broad daylight on Lübecker Straße, one of the busiest streets in a city that suffered the heinous Christmas market terror attack last year.
Shortly after midday, the victim sought refuge inside an office building that also housed a gym after being followed by her attacker. Cornered in a stairwell, the victim was stabbed multiple times, according to police.
“Despite immediate rescue measures, the victim died at the scene,” said police spokesman Stefan Brodtrück. Emergency doctors and paramedics also treated the suspect, who was found with serious self-inflicted injuries when officers arrived. He was taken under police guard to the Municipal Hospital in Magdeburg, and remains in a critical condition.
Both the victim and the suspect are Syrian nationals living in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt, authorities confirmed.
Police cordoned off the intersection of Lübecker Straße and Fabrikenstraße as crime scene specialists from the State Criminal Police Office worked at the site. A helicopter and dog handlers were also deployed. Investigators from the homicide division are leading the inquiry.
“The background to the crime is still unclear,” a police spokesman said, noting that investigators had not yet ascertained whether the victim and suspect knew each other, and if so, what any motive for the attack may have been.
The Magdeburg public prosecutor’s office is treating the case as manslaughter. It is unclear why a homicide charge is not being sought.
Preliminary autopsy results are expected on Monday, after which prosecutors will decide whether to apply for an arrest warrant and whether the suspect should be held in remand prison or in a psychiatric hospital.
