Shocking knife attack

Emergency surgery for Islam critic, police officer in mortal danger

Screenshot from the video that was published on social media: The attacker stabs a police officer, the officer on the right shoots him down a short time later.

(Bild: Quelle: YouTube/Augen auf!; krone.at)

Shock in the German city of Mannheim: during a right-wing rally in the city center, a man attacked several people with a knife, including a critic of Islam and a police officer. The latter's life is currently in danger. The identity of the perpetrator was established on Friday evening.

According to the police, the attack happened at around 11.35 a.m. on Mannheim's market square.

The well-known German Islam critic Michael Stürzenberger wanted to take part as a speaker in a rally organized by the right-wing populist citizens' movement Pax Europa (BPE) and, according to the announcement, do "educational work".

Photos from the scene: 

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Attacker identified
The attacker with a beard and glasses is Sulaiman A. (25) from Afghanistan. He attacked the 59-year-old and stabbed him with a knife. Stürzenberger was hit in the face and leg.

According to his colleague, he is currently undergoing emergency surgery in hospital, but his life is not in danger. A total of seven people were injured, including Sulaiman A.

Attacker stabbed policeman in the neck
Things really got going after the attack on Stürzenberger. Police officers intervened, but at first the officers obviously did not know who was the perpetrator and who was the victim. One police officer pulled the employee, who according to Bild was a BPE security man, to the ground, knelt on him - but was then attacked himself by the assailant, who brutally stabbed him in the neck.

Dramatically, the policeman's life is currently in danger. Focus online" learned from security sources that the injured officer lost a lot of blood during the attack.

The victim: Michael Stürzenberger (pictured at a Pegida rally in Graz in 2015)

(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

"Dicey situation"
Another officer was finally able to put the attacker down with a shot from his pistol. "The situation was apparently so dicey that firearms were used against the attacker," wrote the Mannheim police in a press release. It went on to say: "The attacker was also injured as a result."

A video published on YouTube shows the brutal knife attack - above you can see a version of the disturbing clip edited by krone.tv.

The police say they are investigating whether the attack had a political background. Emergency services and a rescue helicopter are on duty. The market square has been cordoned off and screens have been erected.

Mayor "speechless"
Mannheim's market square is located in the center of the city of 300,000 inhabitants in the north of Baden-Württemberg. The mayor of the city was shocked. "This brutal attack shakes and shocks us, it leaves us speechless," said CDU Mayor Christian Specht. His thoughts are with the injured police officer and the other victims.

At the same time, he called on people not to speculate about the background to the crime, but instead to wait for the results of the investigation.