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Mother suspected of pushing son under a train

October 19, 2015

German police believe that a Hamburg mother shoved her 11-year old boy in front of a subway train, causing him to lose a foot, authorities say. The woman is believed to be mentally ill.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GqVs
Hamburg Bahnhof Hoheluftbrücke
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Bockwoldt

Closed-circuit TV footage and eyewitness reports indicated that the 31-year old woman was responsible for her son's injury, a spokeswomen for the prosecutor's office said Monday.

The firefighters were forced to move several cars of the subway train to get to the boy, who lost a foot in the Sunday incident in central Hamburg.

The motives of his mother are still unclear, according to the officials.

The woman allegedly suffers from mental health problems. The authorities have referred her to a psychiatric hospital for an examination, in order to determine whether she can be held accountable for her actions.

Based on the doctor's reports, the German official will also determine whether the woman should stay in the hospital or be transferred to jail.

The boy is no longer in life-threatening condition, according to the police.

dj/msh (dpa, AFP)