A "suspect" has been arrested in Berlin after a man was seriously wounded in a knife attack at the city's Holocaust memorial.
The man is said to have been injured by a sharp object at around 6pm local time (5pm in the UK) - and has been taken to hospital by emergency services, according to local reports.
A Berlin police spokesman said a "major operation" had been triggered following the attack at the memorial - which sits just next to the US embassy.
A later update from the force's social media account said: "Our officers have arrested a suspect near the crime scene. The person's identity is being checked and the investigation is ongoing."
PICTURED: A heavily guarded police officer guards the Holocaust memorial
REUTERS
But the spokesman said there was "no indication" as to a possible motive behind the attack.
"An as-yet unidentified male suspect attacked a person standing here, who was so seriously injured that he had to be taken by the fire brigade to hospital for emergency treatment," Berlin Police's Florian Nath added.
An earlier statement on social media by Berlin Police read: "At around 6pm, a man was seriously injured by an unknown person in the field of stelae at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Mitte [central Berlin].
"The injured man was taken to hospital. Rescue workers are on site caring for several people who had to witness the events. Investigations are ongoing at the crime scene."
MORE AS VIOLENT CRIME SWEEPS EUROPE:
A Berlin police spokesman said a 'major operation' had been triggered following the attack at the memorial
GB NEWS
It comes just hours after a teenager was arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in the German capital.
The teen - an 18-year-old from Chechnya, in Russia - had been trying to leave Germany from Berlin's Brandenburg Airport when he was detained, according to Bild.
Bild said the investigation had been the result of a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency.
Police were seen trawling through the Holocaust memorial in search of an attacker
REUTERS
Legions of emergency vehicles descended on the Holocaust memorial after the stabbing
REUTERS
And it comes just two days before Germans head to the polls for a snap general election - with Alternative for Germany party ranking in second place nationwide.
Campaigning in the run-up to the historic vote has been marred by a series of high-profile attacks, including a car attack in Munich which claimed the life of a mother and daughter.
And just days earlier, a two-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man were killed in a stabbing in Bavaria.
Both attacks are reported to have been carried out by "asylum seekers" from Afghanistan.
