Mannheim attack: Several people injured in stabbing in German city

BERLIN (AP) — A man stabbed several members of a group that describes itself as opponents of “political Islam” in a central square in Mannheim on Friday, authorities said. Six people were injured, including a police officer who intervened.

The police quickly ended the attack by shooting the attacker, who was also injured.

The attack occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. (09:30 GMT) on the market square, a downtown square in southwest Mannheim.

The attacker stabbed participants at an event organized by the Pax Europa group and injured five members of the organization, police and prosecutors said in a statement. The police officer was stabbed several times in the head from behind, they said.

Another officer fired a shot at the attacker, ending the attack. The injured were taken to different hospitals, where some of them underwent surgery.

Several hours later, the authorities announced that they could not yet provide any information on the severity of the injuries. The identity of the attacker had also not yet been determined.

Pax Europa describes itself as an organization that informs the public about the dangers posed by the “increasing spread and influence of political Islam.” Among those injured was Michael Stürzenberger, an anti-Islam activist who is one of the organization’s leading figures and has spoken at its events.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said it was the task of the investigation to determine a motive. In a statement, she said: “If the investigation reveals an Islamist motive, that would be further confirmation of the great danger of Islamist violence that we have warned about.”

“We cannot yet make any statements about the perpetrator’s motive,” said Thomas Strobl, Faeser’s counterpart in Baden-Württemberg, where Mannheim is located.

“The images from Mannheim are terrible,” posted Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X. “Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy.”

Mannheim, a city with about 300,000 inhabitants, is located south of Frankfurt.