Bloody attack in Mannheim

Knife in the head: police officer now in an induced coma

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

(Bild: AFP)

The police officer injured in a knife attack during an event organized by the Islam-critical movement Pax Europa (BPE) in Mannheim, Germany, has been placed in an induced coma. "His life is still in danger," said a spokesperson for the state criminal investigation department on Saturday.

In the attack, a man injured several people on the market square in the city center on Friday morning, including the police officer who was critically injured. The officer had been stabbed in the back of the head. A combat knife was used as the murder weapon.

Pictures from the crime scene

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Perpetrator comes from Afghanistan, motive still unclear
The perpetrator has since undergone surgery and is currently not fit for questioning, said the police spokesman. The motive is still unclear. According to consistent media reports, he is a 25-year-old from Herat in Afghanistan who lives in southern Hesse. According to security sources, he is married to a German woman who has two children.

Critic of Islam after surgery: "It was really close"
Meanwhile, Islam critic Michael Stürzenberger, who was also injured in the attack, also spoke out from hospital. "It was really close yesterday", he wrote on Telegram. Stürzenberger reported that he had suffered several stab wounds, one of which in his thigh had caused "considerable blood loss". He was also injured in the face. Stürzenberger thanked all the doctors involved as well as the facial surgeons "who came specially from a specialist clinic".

Michael Stürzenberger was stabbed

(Bild: AFP)

The Bavarian-born German critic of Islam wanted to give a speech at an event on Mannheim's market square in his capacity as spokesperson for the right-wing populist Citizens' Movement. 
According to the organization's treasurer, Stefanie Kizina, the attack was specifically aimed at Stürzenberger.

Many questions about the crime still unanswered
According to the LKA, numerous questions remain unanswered and are still under investigation. "What kind of knife is that? Where did it come from? Did he buy the knife?" - The answers to these questions will also be used to find out 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 offenses, is investigating the case.

"Our thoughts are with everyone who was injured by the knife attack, and my thoughts as Minister of the Interior are of course also with the injured police colleague in particular," said Baden-Württemberg's Minister of the Interior Thomas Strobl (CDU) to the Bild newspaper.

Internet video shows the crime 
Shortly after the attack, a video of the crime circulated on the Internet: It shows the attacker stabbing several people and bystanders shouting: "Get the knife away!" An officer can also be seen shooting the attacker. Several police officers then restrain the man on the ground. According to the police, the public prosecutor's office and the state criminal investigation department, only one shot was fired.

"The images are terrible"
The crime caused horror. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed his shock. "The images from Mannheim are terrible," he wrote on Platform X. "My thoughts are with the victims. Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy. The perpetrator must be severely punished."

"Violence destroys democracy"
Germany's Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his indignation. "I condemn the act in Mannheim in the strongest possible terms!" wrote his spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin on X in Steinmeier's name. "There must be no place for violence in our democracy - violence destroys democracy. Freedom of expression is a valuable 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 declared: "On behalf of the city of Mannheim and Mannheim's urban society, I condemn this vile, brutal terrorist attack during an event critical of Islam in the strongest possible terms."