4 Hurt in stabbing at gym in Germany

Berlin, Apr 18 (EFE).- Four people were badly wounded Tuesday in a stabbing at a fitness center in the western German city of Duisburg, authorities said.

Police went to the gym, located near city hall, after receiving an emergency call at 5:40 pm.

By the time the officers arrived, the assailant or assailants had fled and police embarked on a massive search for “at least one suspect” armed with a knife or machete.

The victims were rushed to the hospital, where three of them are listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, police said.

All four of the victims are German nationals.

Bild newspaper reported that the violence erupted in the locker room of the fitness center and citing witnesses as saying that the victims appeared to be chosen at random.

Police said that they lacked an accurate description of the perpetrator or perpetrators and appealed to witnesses to come forward.

Police asked the public to avoid the area around the crime scene.

Duisburg is a city of nearly 500,000 people at the junction of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. EFE gc/dr