Police officer in serious condition – DW – 01.06.2024

A German police officer who suffered life-threatening injuries in a knife attack on a rally by the anti-Islamic right-wing extremist group Pax Europa in Mannheim on Friday is still in serious condition, police said on Saturday.

The attack also injured five participants in the rally and took them to hospital. Some had to undergo emergency surgery, authorities said. The suspected attacker was shot by police.

Security sources told the dpa news agency that the attacker had suffered life-threatening injuries. A police spokesman said on Saturday that the suspect was no longer responsive after an operation and could not be questioned about his motive.

“What concerns us most is the question of motive,” says the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office, in which Mannheim is located.

The case has now been taken over by the anti-terrorism investigation agency.

What do we know now?

According to authorities, the injured police officer was stabbed several times in the back of the head.

Among the other injured was leading Pax Europa member Michael Stürzenberger, his organization said. The event was part of his “Open Eyes” tour, with which the organizers wanted to warn against the dangers of “political Islam.”

Stürzenberger is reportedly out of danger. On the Pax Europa website he is quoted as saying that his operation went well and that he sends his best wishes to the injured police officer.

It remains unclear whether other members of Pax Europa were injured.

The Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution accuses Stürzenberger of “anti-Islamic statements” and classifies the organization Pax Europa itself as anti-Islam.

Although the police have not yet identified the suspect, media reports say he is a 25-year-old Afghan national who lives in southern Hesse, about 30 kilometers northeast of Mannheim.

According to SWR, the man has been in Germany since 2013.

tj/wd (dpa, AFP)