German police announced that a man with a knife attacked several people in the city of Mannheim in southwestern Germany on Friday, wounding seven people.
The police shot the perpetrator. Officials said he underwent surgery and is currently unfit for questioning, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear.
According to various German media reports, the alleged perpetrator is a 25-year-old man from Afghanistan who is said to have immigrated to Germany in 2013 and is said to have a valid residence permit.
According to reports, one of those injured in the attack is a police officer who is still fighting for his life.
A spokesman for the state criminal police office said Saturday morning: “His life is still in serious danger.”
Among those stabbed was a far-right German political activist and critic of Islam, Michael Sturzenberger.
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Videos of the incident posted on social media showed Sturzenberger being attacked by the man in Mannheim’s central market square at around 11:45 a.m. local time. Sturzenberger was participating in a march organized by the citizens’ movement Pax Europe, which describes itself as “anti-Islamization.”
Sturzenberger’s colleague, Stephanie Kezina, told a local correspondent for the German newspaper Bild that he was “undergoing emergency surgery” after being stabbed in the face and leg, but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Rescue and emergency services, including a medical helicopter, were deployed to the scene. No information was available about the condition of the other victims.
