Police officer dies after stabbing during anti-Islam rally in Mannheim

A 29-year-old police officer died Sunday after being stabbed multiple times in an attack at an anti-Islam rally in Germany.

A man armed with a knife attacked and injured several people on Friday on the market square in the southwestern German city of Mannheim.

Five people attending a rally organized by Pax Europa, a campaign group against radical Islam, were injured in the attack.

The police officer was “stabbed several times in the head” while he tried to intervene, local police said in a statement.

After the attack, he underwent “emergency surgery and was placed in an induced coma” but “died from his injuries” on Sunday, police said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “deeply saddened” by the officer’s death after the “terrible attack”.

“His commitment to the safety of all of us deserves the highest recognition,” Mr. Scholz said on X.

If the extremist motive for the attack were to be confirmed, “it would show how firmly we must continue to fight Islamist terrorism,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.

“Our security authorities have the Islamist scene in their sights,” Ms. Faeser said.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the German daily Picture : “We must defend ourselves with determination against Islamist terrorism and we will also financially strengthen the security authorities.”

Germany has been on high alert for such attacks since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, with the country's domestic intelligence chief warning that the risk is “real and higher than expected.” has been for a long time.”

The country has also seen a series of attacks against politicians at work or during the campaign for the European elections on June 9.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier last week expressed concern about the growing trend and said Germans “should never get used to violence in the battle of political opinions.”

Updated: June 3, 2024, 6:33 a.m.