Several injured

Bloody attack in Mannheim: This is how the FPÖ reacts

There was a bloody knife attack on Mannheim's market square on Friday.

(Bild: APA Pool/APA/dpa/Rene Priebe)

Shock in the German city of Mannheim: On Friday, a man stabbed a critic of Islam and a police officer, seriously injuring both. The perpetrator was eventually shot dead. Politicians were shocked. There has also been a reaction from Austria. 

For FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker, the attack in Germany is the result of a "failed European asylum and migration policy" in recent years. It is unacceptable that people in a democratic country have to fear for their lives when organizing a rally. 

FPÖ general criticizes Karner
Hafenecker also criticized the Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP): "In the current constitutional protection report, the dangers posed by radical Islam and left-wing extremism are systematically downplayed."

FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Criticism of no-walking zones
According to Hafenecker, there are gun ban zones in Mannheim - as in Vienna. "These were also widely announced in the media in Vienna - and just a few hours after the end of the Interior Minister's PR show, the next knife attack took place there. Prohibition zones and other showy measures are useless: the borders must finally be closed."

Prohibition zones and other showy measures are useless: the borders must finally be closed. In a second step, radical Islamists must be deported with a vengeance.

FPÖ-Generalsekretär Christian Hafenecker

"Makes us speechless"
The CDU mayor of the city of Mannheim, Christian Specht, was deeply shocked: "This brutal attack shakes and shocks us, it leaves us speechless," he said. 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, but instead to wait for the results of the investigation.

Photos from the crime scene in Mannheim:

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Fotos

Scholz: "Pictures are terrible"
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wrote on X: "The pictures from Mannheim are terrible. Several people have been seriously injured by an attacker. My thoughts are with the victims. Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy. The perpetrator must be severely punished."

"A terrible crime"
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) also expressed her shock to the Bild newspaper. "The knife attack in Mannheim is a terrible crime. The images of this brutal act of violence are shocking. I wish the victims of this crime a full recovery."

"A stab in the heart of democracy"
Boris Palmer, non-party mayor of Tübingen, 100 kilometers away as the crow flies, told Bild: "Attacks on dissidents and the police are a stab in the heart of democracy." The ex-Green Party member demands: "Our state must become more defensive here, regardless of the origin of the perpetrator and the opinion of the victim."

Critic of Islam stabbed to death
One of the victims is Michael Stürzenberger, a German critic of Islam from Bavaria. He wanted to give a speech at a rally organized by the right-wing populist citizens' movement Pax Europa. "The attack happened before the event even started, it must have been planned long in advance," said Stefanie Kizina, treasurer of Pax Europa.