A 19-year-old Syrian refugee in Germany has been hailed as a hero after he pinned down an assailant at Hamburg’s main railway station, helping to halt an attack in which 18 people were injured.

Police on Friday said a 39-year-old German woman had been arrested at the scene of the attack and that she was believed to be in a state of psychological distress. The 18 people injured were later reported to all be in stable condition, while the woman was placed in psychiatric care.

He watched as people began running away from the woman. “I decided to run in the other direction and stop the woman,” he told the German news magazine Der Spiegel.

As he made his way, he saw another man, whom he described as Chechen, kick the woman in the knee, causing her to fall to the ground. “I held her [down] and pressed her hands against her rucksack so she couldn’t get up,” he said. “The woman didn’t scream, she didn’t resist.”

Police arrived a few moments later. As they pointed their weapons towards them, Muhammad moved away from the woman slowly, his hands raised in the air.