German police detain suspect after stabbings in gym

German police arrested a suspect on Saturday night, days after a man stabbed several people at a gym in Duisburg, reported dpa, quoting the Duisburg public prosecutor's office.

The suspect is a 26-year-old, the public prosecutor's office said. Shortly after midnight, he was in his flat which was in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene.

The arrest came after two men contacted the police together on Saturday afternoon. Investigators had been searching surveillance camera footage since Friday in a bid to identify the suspected attacker.

Four people were seriously injured in Tuesday's attack.

The police used surveillance camera photos to find the suspect, whom they arrested shortly after midnight, Duisburg prosecutor Jill Mc Culler said.

The suspect, a Syrian citizen, is due to be brought before a magistrate this Monday.

Meanwhile, the police and the state prosecutor's office said that when a suspect was arrested in connection with the gym attack, investigators seized two knives which might have been used in the attack.

The investigators did not provide any further information on Sunday about a possible motive and other background to the crime.

The 21-year-old who is said to have been the target of the attack is still in critical condition, the prosecutor said on Saturday.

Of three other victims who were not allegedly the direct target of the attack, two 24-year-olds were still in hospital, but their lives were not in danger, the prosecutor said. Only the 32-year-old injured man has been released from hospital so far.

The news of the arrest, made shortly after midnight, came as a relief to Duisburg residents, a city that has seen an above average amount of crime in recent years.