Court rejects arrest warrant for suspect in violent train clash

The 36-year-old suspect in a violent clash on board a train that left a security guard working for German rail operator Deutsche Bahn critically injured was set free on Saturday evening, after the district court refused to grant a prosecutor's arrest warrant.

The suspect was known to the criminal justice system for violent offences and had been free on probation. He is alleged to have been drunk and to have become involved in a violent altercation with the 26-year-old Deutsche Bahn security guard during a ticket inspection.

Prosecutors had applied for the warrant based on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after the guard fell from a moving train during a violent confrontation with the suspect. 

The guard remains in hospital in critical condition. The prosecutor declined to comment on whether the guard was in a coma or responsive, citing privacy concerns

But the court refused the petition. It was not immediately clear why the arrest warrant application was rejected.  

The incident happened on Friday evening during a ticket inspection on a train travelling from Offenburg to Karlsruhe in south-western Germany.

A verbal dispute apparently broke out during the inspection, prompting two Deutsche Bahn security guards to be called in, according to the statement released early on Saturday.

A spokesman for the public prosecutor's office said the security officer reportedly fell against the train door during a physical altercation with a passenger, who was reportedly drunk, causing the door to tear from its hinges.

The regional train was travelling at around 120 kilometres per hour when the fall occurred, he added. 

The railway security guards had already alerted police, who were scheduled to board the train at the next stop. However, the confrontation escalated before officers could intervene.

Police are interviewing witnesses and investigations are under way to determine whether there is any video footage of the events. The train has been impounded and is being examined.