In downtown Mannheim, a man attacked several people with a knife at a stand belonging to the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa. Investigators are primarily concerned with the question of why.
One day after the knife attack at an event organized by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa in Mannheim, investigators are continuing to try to clarify how the bloody act could have happened. “What concerns us most is the question of the motive,” said the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation.
The perpetrator shot by the police had undergone surgery and is currently unable to be questioned, so the search for his motives has not yet made any progress. Investigators have not yet released any information about his identity.
According to consistent media reports, the man is a 25-year-old from Herat in Afghanistan who lives in southern Hesse. The police officer injured in the attack is “still in grave danger of death,” said a spokesman for the State Criminal Police Office.
Attack on Mannheim market square
The perpetrator attacked participants of an anti-Islam rally on Mannheim’s market square yesterday morning and injured six people, including a police officer. According to the LKA spokesman, all of the injured except for the officer were participants in the rally. It is still unclear whether they are also members of Pax Europa.
According to the organization’s treasurer, Stefanie Kizina, board member Michael Stürzenberger was also injured. Kizina said the attack was aimed specifically at the 59-year-old, who was injured in the face with a knife. She explained to the “Bild” newspaper: “He was hit in the leg and face and is undergoing emergency surgery. His life is apparently not in danger.” Stürzenberger is one of the leading figures in the association.
The State Criminal Police Office says that numerous questions are still unanswered and are the subject of investigations. “What kind of knife is that? Where did it come from? Did he buy the knife?” – the answers to these questions will also help to determine whether the arrested man planned the crime or whether it was a spontaneous attack. The State Security Department of the Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is responsible for political crimes, is investigating the case.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who was injured in the knife attack, and my thoughts as Interior Minister are of course especially with the injured police colleague,” Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) told the “Bild” newspaper.
Internet video shows incident
Shortly after the attack, a video of the crime circulated on the Internet: It shows the attacker stabbing several people. Bystanders shout: “Put the knife away!” It also shows an officer shooting the attacker. Several police officers then pin the man to the ground. According to the police, public prosecutor’s office and the State Criminal Police Office, only one shot was fired.
The crime caused horror across the country. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also shocked. “The images from Mannheim are terrible,” he wrote on the X platform. “My thoughts are with the victims. Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy. The perpetrator must be severely punished.”
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was outraged. “I condemn the crime in Mannheim in the strongest possible terms!”, his spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin wrote on Steinmeier’s behalf on X. “There must be no room for violence in our democracy – violence destroys democracy. Freedom of expression is a precious asset.” Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck spoke of “terrible scenes of violence”. The circumstances of the crime must now be clarified quickly, Habeck told the German Press Agency on Friday.
Mannheim’s mayor Christian Specht (CDU) described the knife attack as a terrorist attack and stated: “In the name of the city of Mannheim and the Mannheim urban community, I condemn in the strongest possible terms this despicable, brutal terrorist attack during an anti-Islam event.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
