A German court on Saturday issued a detention order for a man alleged to have stabbed several people on a packed public bus in the northern city of Lübeck.

Police said the 34-year-old was being held on suspicion of attempted murder, endangering public safety, attempted arson, grievous bodily harm and assault.

He is accused of starting a fire and attacking a number of passengers with a kitchen knife on a bus heading through Kücknitz, a suburb of Lübeck, on Friday. Ten people were injured in the incident, three of them seriously.

Read more: Youth knifing spate alarms German police unions

Silence on motive

The suspect was detained by police after being overpowered by passengers at the scene. He has reportedly refused to speak to investigators since his arrest.

Officials have yet to determine a motive, but said the man had "no sign of a terrorist background."

Read more: Knife attack at Flensburg train station in northern Germany

Police said the man was a German citizen and Lübeck local who was born in Iran but had lived in Germany for a long time.

The man's lawyer told German television channel n-tv his client was suffering from a mental disorder, possibly "paranoid schizophrenia."

nm/tj (AFP, dpa)  

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