It was a Friday evening like so many others - people rushing through the halls of Hamburg Central Station, trains arriving, life running its usual course. Until suddenly everything changed. On platform 13, a woman pulled out a knife - and started stabbing. 18 people were injured, four of them critically. Panic broke out, screams, blood, chaos.
But in the midst of that moment - while many fled - two men chose to stay. And to act.
A Chechen - his name is still unknown - was the first to respond. He confronted the attacker and delivered a targeted kick. She fell. It was the decisive moment. The second man, Mohammad al-Mohammad, a 19-year-old Syrian from Aleppo, was on his way back to his shared apartment in Buchholz. He didn’t hesitate. He rushed forward, restrained the woman with his bare hands, pressing her arms onto her backpack. He held her like that until the police arrived.
I decided to stop her,” al-Mohammad said later. It wasn’t a heroic gesture - it was humanity in a state of emergency.
The suspected attacker is a 39-year-old German woman with a known mental illness. She was arrested at the scene and is now in psychiatric care. But the questions remain - how was she able to carry a knife despite the existing weapons ban at the station? Why didn’t anyone react sooner?
The attack has sparked a renewed debate - about safety, about prevention, about technology. Since 2023, an expanded weapons ban has been in place around the station. And yet experts are now calling for more: facial recognition, AI-assisted surveillance, more personnel. All of that may be justified - but none of it replaces civil courage.
Because it wasn’t cameras. It wasn’t police officers. It was two young men - refugees, as they’re often broadly labeled - who stopped the attack. One from Syria. One from Chechnya.
Mohammad al-Mohammad has lived in Germany since 2022. He survived war in Aleppo. In Hamburg, he saved lives. His bravery and determination have since been praised by many - media, politicians, ordinary people. But even more important is the effect of his action - it shows that humanity needs no citizenship.
An aid program has been set up for the victims. Police have opened an online portal for witnesses to submit photos, videos, or information. What remains is the memory of an evening that could have ended far worse - if not for the courage of two young men.
Sometimes you don’t need a uniform, a law, or a system. Sometimes all it takes is a step forward - against fear, against violence, for life.
On the AfD’s social media accounts, there is a remarkable silence. No word of thanks to the two young men, no comment on the attack itself. It doesn’t fit the worldview of a party that often portrays refugees as a threat - and now has to watch as two of them became rescuers. Silence can sometimes be louder than any slogan.
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