8-year-old pushed onto tracks, killed by oncoming train in Germany

An 8-year-old boy was killed on Monday when a manpushed him and his mother into the path of an oncoming train atFrankfurt's main train station.A suspect has been taken into custody and the case is beinginvestigated as a homicide, police said.Witnesses said a man pushed the boy and his mother off platform 7,according to police. The 40-year-old woman was able to save herselfand avoid the oncoming high-speed regional train. Her son sufferedfatal injuries. "The child was run over by the train ... and died on the tracks,"police spokesman Thomas Hollerbach said. "The 40-year-old mothermanaged to roll to the side and save herself."The suspect also tried to push another person, according to police,but that person was able to avoid falling onto the tracks.He initially fled the scene but was apprehended outside the stationwith the help of passers-by.  A "massive police operation" ensued at the train station, the policespokeswoman said. Several tracks were closed for several hours,leading to delays and cancellations.Police are pursuing a murder investigation and will be examiningvideo footage of the incident. The suspect is 40 and from Eritrea,according to initial investigations.The suspect and the victims did not know each other, the police said.The mother was taken to hospital and received emergency medical care.She will be questioned as soon as possible, a police spokesman said.Volker Bouffier, the president of the state of Hesse, said he feltshaken by the incident. "It is bewildering that mother and child werepushed in front of a train. The explanation of the heinous act is nowin the hands of the competent authorities," he said.Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced that he would interrupthis holiday to chair a crisis meeting of the security authorities.Less than two weeks ago, a 34-year-old mother was shoved off theplatform and onto the tracks at a train station in Voerde, in thewestern state of North Rhine Westphalia. She was killed by anoncoming regional train.The 28-year-old suspect - a Serb born in Germany - is said to havesilently approached the woman from behind and pushed her onto thetracks. He is currently in provisional custody on suspicion of murderand has not commented on the accusations against him.Frankfurt station is one of the largest railway stations in Germanyand is visited by almost 500,000 people every day.