Brutal attack in Dresden

Teenager tracked down after attack on politician

SPD MEP Matthias Ecke on an election poster - he suffered broken bones in his face and had to undergo surgery.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Robert Michael)

Four suspects have already been identified following the brutal attack on SPD MEP Matthias Ecke in Dresden. After a 17-year-old turned himself in to the police on Sunday, the three others have now also been identified, as the Saxony State Criminal Police Office and the Dresden public prosecutor's office announced on Monday. Evidence was seized during house searches and is now being analyzed.

The four young men are 17 and 18 years old. It will take some time before the investigations are completed, it was said. After the apartment searches, two men were taken for identification treatment, reported "Bild". The background to the crime is still unclear. The suspects are German citizens, the public prosecutor explained.

SPÖ top candidate: "cowardly and brutal attack"
The attack on Dresden SPD MEP Ecke while he was putting up election posters has caused horror across Germany and triggered a debate about the escalation of violence during election campaigns. Several thousand people demonstrated for democracy and against violence in Dresden and Berlin on Sunday. The German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to everyone to conduct the political debate peacefully and with respect. The SPÖ top candidate for the EU elections, Andreas Schieder, spoke on X, formerly Twitter, of a "cowardly and brutal attack" on his "German comrade".

Beating victim had to be operated on
Ecke was attacked and seriously injured by several people while putting up posters in Dresden on Friday evening. Ecke has been in hospital ever since. He underwent surgery on Sunday. The 41-year-old suffered a fracture to his cheekbone and eye socket as well as hematomas on his face, said Saxony's SPD leader Henning Homann. According to the police, shortly before the attack on Ecke, the same group had presumably also injured a Green Party campaign worker in the vicinity.

No suspects after attack on Green Party politician in Essen
Following the attack on two Green Party politicians in Essen, the police are still searching for the unknown attackers. "We have not yet been able to identify any suspects", said a police spokeswoman on Monday. Investigators are now hoping to track down the perpetrators with further information from witnesses.

In the incident in Essen, member of the Bundestag Kai Gehring and the third mayor of the city of Essen, Rolf Fliß (both Greens), were attacked after a party event, according to their own statements. After an initially friendly conversation, an argument and insults ensued. Finally, Fliß was punched in the face. He was slightly injured.