site.btaUPDATED Woman Detained for Stabbing Four German Nationals in Two Attacks in Central Sofia

Police have detained a 39-year-old woman late Thursday after she allegedly stabbed four German nationals in two separate incidents within minutes of each other in central Sofia, authorities said. All victims were hospitalized with stab wounds but are not in life-threatening condition, according to medical officials.  

The attacks occurred in two different locations in central Sofia some 15 minutes apart on Thursday evening, the Interior Ministry said. 

The first signal was received at 7:29 PM, when emergency services were alerted about two injured people at the Vasil Levski Stadium metro station, the Sofia Center for Emergency Medical Care (SCEMC) said. Two ambulances were dispatched to the scene. The victims - German male citizens aged 65 and 63 - sustained stab wounds to the head and body and were transported to the Pirogov emergency hospital. Medical examinations showed injuries requiring surgical treatment, but neither is in a life threatening condition, the hospital said. 

About 15 minutes later, a second signal was received reporting two women stabbed at a bus stop on Cherni Vrah Boulevard, in the direction of Hotel Hemus, SCEMC reported. The victims, females aged 26 and 30 who are German nationals as well, were taken to the Military Medical Academy (MMA). Doctors treated non-life threatening stab wounds to their arms, the hospital said. 

Shortly before midnight, Sofia police sought public assistance in locating the suspected attacker, releasing her photograph and urging anyone with information to contact emergency number 112. 

Later, the police confirmed that the woman, aged 39, had been detained. Police are continuing to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incidents. 

The Pirogov emergency hospital said on Friday morning that the 63-year-old German citizen who underwent surgery late after he was stabbed in the first attack, was stable and remains hospitalized. The wound of the other victim, aged 65, injured in the same incident, was surgically treated and he has since been discharged from the hospital. 

The two women who were treated at the MMA have been discharged as well, the hospital told BTA, explaining that no hospitalization was necessary.