2024 Mannheim stabbing

2024 Mannheim stabbing
Location	Mannheim, Germany
Date	31 May 2024 11:30 am – 11:45am (Central European Summer Time)
Attack type	Stabbing
Weapon	Knife
Deaths	Unknown
Injured	Per Mannheim police: Several (including the perpetrator)
Accused	Unnamed man

On 31 May 2024 at 11.30 am, an assailant armed with a knife attacked and wounded several people near at an event of the anti-islamic group BPE in a square in the southwestern German city of Mannheim. The known anti-islam activist Michael Stürzenbergerr was harmed and a police officer has life-threatening injuries. Police shot at the attacker, who also was injured.

Stabbing

The right-wing political group BPE organized an information stand on the market square in Mannheim. The activist Stürzenberger, one of the best-known anti-Islam activists in Germany, was supposed to give a speech. At previous rallies, he called for “re-education camps” for Muslims modeled on China. He described the Koran as “the most dangerous book in the world” and compared it to Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”. He even wants to ban prayer or fasting as a religious Muslim rite.

The incident started at 11:30am when 58 year old anti-Islam activist Michael Stürzenberger was livestreaming a video. Videos of the incident showed a man appearing to be Stürzenberger being attacked by the knife-wielding man in the central Market square in Mannheim. Rescue and emergency services, including a medivac helicopter, were deployed to the scene.

A livestreamed video from the event shows a man attacking people with a knife. At least one person is seen with a wound to the leg. A number of bystanders are seen grappling with the attacker, who later manages to break free and stab a police officer in the back. Several police officers with firearms then surround him, before he falls to the ground and stops moving. German news site Bild also showed a video in which the assailant is shot from behind as he stabs another police officer in the neck.

Aftermath

According to Der Spiegel, the authorities assume a total of seven people were injured. Several people are said to have suffered stab wounds in their legs and arms, and some also in their shoulders or faces. The police said in a statement that there was no longer any danger to the public. There was no immediate word on the motive. At least four people were wounded in the attack, including two policeman. One who was stabbed in the back and one who was stabbed in the neck. The German DPA news agency reported that the officer who was stabbed in the neck is undergoing surgery. Stürzenberger is undergoing emergency surgery for non-life threatening injuries.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that it's up to the investigation to determine a motive. She said in a statement that "if the investigation shows an Islamist motive, that would be another confirmation of the great danger from Islamist acts of violence that we have warned of." German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X that the images from Mannheim are terrible and that such acts of violence are unacceptable. He also said that the perpetrator must be "severely punished".