Major operation: Search for motive in Mannheim – Apartment in Heppenheim searched | EUROtoday
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Major operation
Search for motif in Mannheim – Apartment in Heppenheim searched
During an operation on Mannheim's market sq., the police shot down an attacker. The man was injured. He had beforehand attacked and injured a number of individuals with a knife. Photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
In downtown Mannheim, a person attacked a number of individuals with a knife at a stand belonging to the anti-Islam motion Pax Europa. Investigators are primarily involved with the query of why.
After the knife assault in Mannheim throughout an occasion organized by the anti-Islam motion Pax Europa, an condo in Heppenheim, Hesse, was searched. Media reviews that this was the condo of the suspected perpetrator haven’t but been confirmed by the State Criminal Police Office in Stuttgart. The search on Friday night was carried out in reference to investigations into Mannheim, stated a spokesman for the State Criminal Police Office.
One day after the knife assault at an occasion organized by the anti-Islam motion Pax Europa in Mannheim, investigators are persevering with to attempt to make clear how the bloody act may have occurred. “What concerns us most is the question of the motive,” stated the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation.
The perpetrator shot by the police had undergone surgical procedure and is at the moment unable to be questioned, so the seek for his motives has not but made any progress. Investigators haven’t but launched any details about his identification.
According to constant media reviews, the person is a 25-year-old from Herat in Afghanistan who lives in southern Hesse. The police officer injured within the assault is “still in grave danger of death,” stated a spokesman for the State Criminal Police Office.
Attack on Mannheim market sq.
The perpetrator attacked contributors of an anti-Islam rally on Mannheim's market sq. yesterday morning and injured six individuals, together with a police officer. According to the LKA spokesman, all the injured apart from the officer had been contributors within the rally. It remains to be unclear whether or not they’re additionally members of Pax Europa.
According to the group's treasurer, Stefanie Kizina, board member Michael Stürzenberger was additionally injured. Kizina stated the assault was aimed particularly on the 59-year-old, who was injured within the face with a knife. She defined to the “Bild” newspaper: “He was hit in the leg and face and is undergoing emergency surgery. His life is apparently not in danger.” Stürzenberger is likely one of the main figures within the group.
The State Criminal Police Office says that quite a few questions are nonetheless unanswered and are the topic of investigations. “What kind of knife is that? Where did it come from? Did he buy the knife?” – the solutions to those questions will even assist to find out whether or not the arrested man deliberate the crime or whether or not it was a spontaneous assault. The State Security Department of the Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor's Office, which is liable for political crimes, is investigating the case.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who was injured in the knife attack, and my thoughts as Interior Minister are of course especially with the injured police colleague,” Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) informed the “Bild” newspaper.
Internet video reveals incident
Shortly after the assault, a video of the crime circulated on the Internet: It reveals the attacker stabbing a number of individuals. Bystanders shout: “Put the knife away!” It additionally reveals an officer capturing the attacker. Several law enforcement officials then pin the person to the bottom. According to the police, public prosecutor's workplace and the State Criminal Police Office, just one shot was fired.
The crime precipitated horror throughout the nation. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was additionally shocked. “The images from Mannheim are terrible,” he wrote on the X platform. “My thoughts are with the victims. Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy. The perpetrator must be severely punished.”
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was outraged. “I condemn the crime in Mannheim in the strongest possible terms!”, his spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin wrote on Steinmeier's behalf on X. “There must be no room for violence in our democracy – violence destroys democracy. Freedom of expression is a precious asset.” Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck spoke of “terrible scenes of violence”. The circumstances of the crime should now be clarified shortly, Habeck informed the German Press Agency on Friday.
Mannheim's mayor Christian Specht (CDU) described the knife assault as a terrorist assault and said: “In the name of the city of Mannheim and the Mannheim urban community, I condemn in the strongest possible terms this despicable, brutal terrorist attack during an anti-Islam event.”
Pax Europa plans additional occasions
The anti-Islam motion Pax Europa additionally desires to look publicly at additional occasions after the knife assault. A stand is deliberate subsequent Saturday (June 8) on the Katharinentreppe in Dortmund metropolis heart, Pax Europa treasurer Stefanie Kizina informed the German Press Agency. She assumes that the police “will definitely tighten security measures.” Pax Europa doesn’t plan to have its personal safety service.
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