June 2, 2024 – 9:34 pm
The 29-year-old police officer who was stabbed in Mannheim, Germany, on Friday during a far-right demonstration, has died. Reuters reports.
According to the police of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, the attack was carried out by a 25-year-old man with a knife and seriously injured six people. “The police officer was stabbed several times in the head,” the police said in a statement, adding that the victim underwent surgery immediately after the attack and was placed in an artificial coma, but died from his injuries on Sunday.
The attack took place in Mannheim city center on Friday, as anti-Islam activist Michael Stuerzenberger was about to give a speech at a PAX Europe event.
Police said earlier that the suspect is an Afghan citizen who has been living in Germany for about ten years. He has no criminal record and has never been under the radar of law enforcement agencies.
The police shot the suspect. According to investigators, he was still alive Saturday night, but was not in a suitable condition for questioning at the hospital. His motives and the reason for his attack require further investigation. DW writes.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “deeply shocked” by the policeman's killing. “His commitment to everyone's safety deserves the utmost respect,” he added. Winfried Kretschmann, President of the State of Baden-Württemberg, also expressed his condolences to the victim's family, friends and colleagues.
