German police officer injured in knife attack in Mannheim dies

June 2 (UPI) — A German police officer who was among half a dozen people injured in a mass stabbing attack in Mannheim on Friday died from his injuries, authorities said Sunday.

The officer was identified as a 29-year-old man.

He was stabbed several times in the head and neck on Friday by a knife-wielding attacker who seriously injured a total of six people on Friday on Mannheim's market square before being shot dead by police.

The unidentified officer was immediately operated on after the attack and placed in an induced coma, but died Sunday afternoon from his injuries.

“We mourn the loss of a police officer who gave his life for our safety,” Mannheim police said in a statement.

Authorities said the attack began around 11:35 a.m. local time on Friday, targeting a rally in support of Buergerbewegung Pax Europa, a far-right anti-hijab movement in Germany.

Video of the incident posted online shows a knife-wielding man frantically and seemingly randomly attacking people in the square, including a police officer seen kneeling on a man amid the chaos.

The attack ended when a police officer shot the attacker.

The attacker has since been identified by local police as a 25-year-old Afghan who has been living in Germany since 2014. He is married with two children and lives with his family in Heppenheim, about 30 km northeast of Mannheim. . .

Police said Saturday that the suspect remained in the hospital and could not be questioned.

An arrest warrant for attempted murder was issued for the suspect, authorities announced before the officer's death.

The other stabbing victims were all men aged 25, 36, 42, 54 and 59 years old. Three of them are German, one is a German-Kazakh citizen and the fifth is an Iraqi citizen.

On Saturday, only the 25-year-old young man was released from the hospital. The condition of a 54-year-old man, who suffered life-threatening injuries, has also improved and is expected to survive, according to authorities.

The suspect's home was searched Friday evening and electronic devices were seized, authorities said.