A 17-year-old Afghan man who seriously injured four people with an axe on a commuter train in the country's south has been killed by police.
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The young man shouted shouted "Allahu Akhbar" -- Arabic for 'God is great" — before he was shot, two German security officials said.
But they warned that it was not clear whether the attack was an act of terrorism.
The youth went on a rampage on a train between Wurzburg-Heidingsfeld and Ochsenfurt, in southern Germany.
Police confirmed that the attacker was shot dead.
Three passengers are in a critical condition, another person was hurt, and as many as 14 people were in shock following the axe attack, said police.
"The lives of some of those injured are in danger," Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told public television broadcaster ARD.
He confirmed that the attacker was a young Afghan man who had come to Germany as an unaccompanied refugee.
"The attacker appears to have been a 17-year-old Afghan who has been living in Ochsenfurt for some time," Herrmann said.
"He suddenly attacked passengers with a knife and an axe, critically injuring several. Some of them may now be fighting for their lives."
Coming so soon after the attack in Nice on Bastille Day, where 84 people died, commentators say the attack is likely to deepen worries about so-called "lone wolf" attacks in Europe. They say it could put political pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants to Germany over the past year.
Asked if the violence was fuelled by Islamist motivations, Herrmann confirmed that the suspect had shouted something in connection with the attack, but he stressed that the investigation was still underway.
After the attack, the boy tried to flee. A police special operations unit, which happened to be nearby at the time of the incident, pursued the suspect, who was shot dead when he tried to attack the officers.
Based on witness accounts, police believe the boy acted alone, Herrmann said.
The boy, who arrived in Germany without his parents, had lived in a refugee home in Ochsenfurt in the Wuerzburg area, and most recently was with a foster family.
The rail line between Wurzburg-Heidingsfeld and Ochsenfurt has been closed, the police spokesman said.
With Reuters and AFP
