Wheelchair user, 72, goes on care home knife rampage, killing woman, 86, and wounding two others, 81 and 83, in Germany

An 86-year-old woman has died and two others have been injured after a vicious knife attack at a care home in Germany. 

Two women, 81 and 83, were wounded in the incident, with one fighting for her life as she remains in a life-threatening condition, police said.   

All three victims were residents of St Vitus-Stift care home, in Olfen near Dortmund, according to the country’s newspaper Bild. 

Emergency services were alerted to the incident in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, at around 7pm on Friday. 

A male pensioner, 72, who uses a wheelchair, is said to have stabbed one of the victims in the neck before going on to attack other residents. 

An 86-year-old woman suffered severe stab wounds and was found by police in the care home’s canteen. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Two helicopters landed in front of the facility as they scrambled to airlift the seriously injured women to the University Hospital in Münster.

The suspect, who is alleged to have launched the vicious knife rampage, went to his room after the incident and, according to police, surrendered without resistance. 

The local police force has launched a probe as a homicide unit investigates the incident. 

The elderly man’s relationship with the woman, as well as the origin of the weapon, remains unclear. 

According to Bild, the suspect has been placed in a psychiatric hospital where he is being guarded by police. He is set to appear before a judge on Saturday. 

St Vitus-Stiff is a care home that houses 77 elderly people who require care because of varying health issues. 

The building also neighbours an assisted living facility with 36 apartments and group homes for pensioners suffering from dementia.