Horror in Bavaria

Germany: Two dead in knife attack in park

Horrific attack on a group of children - one boy is dead, another child seriously injured. The police arrested a suspect who is said to have undergone psychiatric treatment several times.

(Bild: Copyright NEWS5 GmbH)

A two-year-old boy was killed and a little girl was injured in a brutal knife attack on a kindergarten group in a park in northern Bavaria on Wednesday. A 41-year-old man tried to help and also became a victim. The suspected attacker (28) is said to have been mentally disturbed beforehand.

The victims were a 41-year-old passer-by who happened to be there and a two-year-old boy from Morocco. Two other people - a man and a woman from Germany and a Syrian girl - were seriously injured in the attack in Aschaffenburg. The 28-year-old with Afghan nationality was arrested shortly after the attack and a kitchen knife was seized as the murder weapon.

The suspect had most recently been registered in asylum accommodation in the region and had already made several police appearances. He was also undergoing treatment for mental health problems, as Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann confirmed on Wednesday. 

No indication of radical views
The 28-year-old had already announced his voluntary departure to the authorities in December 2023, whereupon his asylum proceedings were discontinued and he was asked to leave the country. Meanwhile, the man continued to receive psychiatric treatment. According to Herrmann, there were no indications of any radical views. A check at the man's home address also revealed no such indications. The act was apparently a consequence of his mental illness.

The park was still closed on Wednesday afternoon. The Aschaffenburg criminal investigation department has taken over the investigation.

(Bild: Copyright NEWS5 GmbH, Krone KREATIV)

Victim tried to fend off attacker
The suspect is said to have attacked the group, consisting of five children and two nursery school teachers, in the park in the Franconian town around lunchtime. According to the German media outlet "Main-Echo", it is said to have been a kindergarten group from Aschaffenburg. The 41-year-old man who was killed is said to have tried to fend off the attacker. He was seriously injured and died at the scene.

The police in Lower Franconia reported the incident on X:

A second person who was initially arrested has since been ruled out as a suspect. It is a witness. The crime scene and the park were cordoned off extensively after the incident around midday. Rail traffic in Aschaffenburg was temporarily suspended and trains were held back because the suspect is said to have tried to flee across the railroad tracks. Train services in Aschaffenburg were still disrupted in the evening. 

Söder: "Horrible day" for Bavaria
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) expressed his shock. In a post on X, he spoke of an "appalling day" for the Free State. "We mourn the loss of a small, innocent child who was fatally injured. We mourn the loss of a helper who paid for his civil courage with his own life." The crime must be fully investigated, but now is the time to pause. "It just hurts," said Söder.

Interior Minister Herrmann traveled to Aschaffenburg on Wednesday to speak to the public at the scene of the crime together with Health Minister Judith Gerlach (both also CSU). Regarding the background to the crime, Herrmann explained on Wednesday afternoon that the perpetrator had attacked the kindergarten group with a kitchen knife and that they had been a random target. The other victim - the 41-year-old man - would have been a passer-by who happened to be there. By intervening, he would very probably have prevented further victims. 

I am shocked, deeply shaken and my heart goes out to the victims and their families. Over the next few days, we will create an opportunity to pause and express our shared grief.

Jürgen Herzing, Aschaffenburgs Oberbürgermeister

According to the police, the three other people who were injured, some of them seriously, were two Germans aged 72 and 59 and a two-year-old Syrian girl. According to media reports, the man suffered serious stab wounds and has already undergone surgery, while the girl also required medical treatment for stitches to her neck. One of the nursery school teachers, who had been out with the children who were attacked, suffered a broken arm. All three are out of danger.

Hotspot for drug-related crime
Aschaffenburg is located in the Bavarian administrative district of Lower Franconia, close to the state border with Hesse. The nine-hectare Schöntal Park, located near the city center, is known as a meeting place for the drug scene. According to the police, narcotics offenses and crimes in the drug scene are committed there time and again. Last November, the site was declared a "dangerous place" under police law, which gives the authorities extended powers.