GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — A U.S. soldier is in military custody after he attacked another soldier with a machete, German and military police said Monday.
The alleged assailant, a 21-year-old soldier with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, was arrested Thursday morning on Rose Barracks and was being held in military custody, unit spokesman Maj. Rob Hoover said.
The victim was taken to a hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries to his upper body and legs, German police said. Officials did not provide the name of either soldier.
The attack occurred at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the garrison spokesman. Military police called German police for support. The suspect, who was apparently intoxicated, had locked himself in a room and was likely armed, a spokesman with the Oberpfalz police said.
Among units dispatched were a negotiating team and a special unit of the German police, SEK, akin to an American SWAT team. At 8:55 a.m. on Thursday, the SEK team raided the room and secured the suspect, said spokesman Michael Rebele.
“They (the MPs) knew there was a weapon involved, and in cases like these it is standard procedure to call the SEK,” said German prosecutor Joachim Diesch.
Rebele was not able to say why or exactly where the attack occurred, but he said the victim managed to run away and contact military police.
The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the case, according to the garrison. Diesch said a concurrent German police investigation will take one to three months.
Rebele said it is not uncommon for German and military police to work together, including training together for critical situations.
“Our strategy paid off,” Rebele said, adding that cases where the German SEK was called in by the Americans are “very rare.”
