Mannheim/Berlin. The fatal knife attack on a police officer in Mannheim sparked horror across the country. It’s not just patrol cars in Baden-Württemberg that use black tape. The investigation continues.
Following the death of a young police officer in a knife attack in Mannheim, there is great sympathy: Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) ordered a minute’s silence and a mourning ribbon. The Mannheim police officers want to say goodbye to their colleague in a funeral ceremony. Meanwhile, investigators are trying to find out more about the motive of the attacker, who, according to security sources, had not previously been considered a criminal or extremist.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the 29-year-old will be remembered next Friday – a week after the crime – at 11:34 am. It is not yet clear when the funeral will be held, a police spokesman said. They first want to give the family space to grieve. “We still need some time.” In the evening, a demonstration took place in Mannheim, close to the crime scene, where flowers were also laid. According to the police, 8 thousand people participated.
What happened?
On Friday, a 25-year-old man with Afghan citizenship pulled out a knife in the market square in the city center, at an event organized by the anti-Islamic movement Pax Europa (BPE). He injured six men, including the police officer. The 29-year-old died from his injuries on Sunday afternoon. The attacker stabbed the police officer several times in the head. He was stopped by another police officer’s gunshot. According to police, among the injured were an Iraqi and a German-Kazakh with dual citizenship.
What do we know about the antecedents of the crime?
The motive for the attack remains unclear. However, there is video footage that shows that the attacker looked at the Pax Europa information desk shortly before stabbing him for the first time. In this regard, a link between the attack and the Islam-critical event with board member Michael Stürzenberger, who was also injured in the attack, is conceivable. In the position of the right-wing populist movement, slogans such as “Political Islam threatens democracy, freedom, security and human rights!” could be read.
So far, the perpetrator of the crime has not been able to be questioned for health reasons, according to the Public Ministry. In addition to the perpetrator’s own statements about the motive for the crime, investigators hope to obtain more information by evaluating the data carriers found during the search of his apartment in Heppenheim, Hesse.
What is known about the perpetrator?
Not much so far. According to information from the German Press Agency, he came to Germany as a teenager in 2013 and asked for asylum. The request was rejected in 2014. However, a deportation ban was imposed, likely due to his young age. The perpetrator recently lived in Heppenheim with his wife and two young children. It is not known where the woman is and whether she has been questioned.
Police activate information portal
Investigators are asking for help from witnesses. The image or video recordings are of interest, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Criminal Police of the State of Baden-Württemberg said. Authorities hope this will give them more information about exactly where in the market the 25-year-old perpetrator was just before last Friday’s attack and what he was doing during that period. Videos and images can be used through a Information portal be passed on to the police.
Worry and concern
When asked whether the knife attack would possibly impact security precautions at the European Football Championship, a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin responded that security was obviously the highest priority at the European Championship. The federal and state governments, therefore, prepared intensively to be able to guarantee this. “Of course, this always happens when measures are examined depending on the situation,” he added.
Patrol car with mourning ribbon and minute of silence
From now on until the day of the police officer’s funeral, mourning flowers must be attached to all Baden-Württemberg police patrol cars. The flag on water police boats must be flown at half-mast, the flags on police buildings and the Ministry of the Interior must be flown at half-mast. Federal Police service vehicles across the country also wear mourning ribbons as a sign of solidarity. Funeral flags were also ordered in Mannheim and Stuttgart.
Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD), thanked the federal police officers for their sign of condolence. “This act shows in a terrible way how dangerous the service of police officers can be for our country and our society. Therefore, they deserve the greatest respect and recognition,” Faeser said, according to the Ministry of the Interior, in the statement.
Political debate
However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced strict measures against extremists. The police officer lost his life for peace and safety. He was in action because he protected democracy and everyone’s right to express their own opinion, regardless of whether someone liked it or not. “If extremists now harm freedom of movement and expression of opinion, then they must know that they have us as their toughest opponents”, said the Chancellor.
Hamburg wants to defend the deportation of seriously criminal foreigners to Syria and Afghanistan at the next Interior Ministers’ Conference (IMK). The group of ministers is expected to ask the Federal Ministry of the Interior to reassess the security situation in Afghanistan and the Syrian capital region, Damascus.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior said that Minister Faeser was intensively examining ways in which criminals and dangerous people could be deported back to Afghanistan. In these cases, Germany’s security interests must clearly outweigh the interest of the person concerned in remaining. However, given the difficult security situation and the fact that there is no internationally recognized government in Afghanistan, difficult questions need to be clarified.
Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) called for a turnaround in migration policy. “The murder of the brave police officer in Mannheim leaves us sad and angry. The extremely rising crime rate among non-Germans, which manifests itself in increasingly violent crimes, knife attacks and rapes, is a very serious problem that must be identified.”
Left-wing leader Martin Schirdewan strongly condemned the attack in Mannheim, while also emphasizing that people from a certain population group should not be placed under general suspicion. Among those who expressed their horror at the attack were the representative of the Palestinian Authority in Germany, Laith Arafeh, and the leadership of the new Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening (Dava) party, which includes, among others, former Party officials Islamic. involved with associations.
According to the “Rheinischer Post”, at the request of the Union parliamentary group, the Bundestag should deal with crime and violence against police officers at the current time. The head of the police union (GdP), Jochen Kopelke, told the newspaper: “The German Bundestag must jointly debate the issue of violence against police officers and knife violence.” follow.”
What happens to the perpetrator?
The Mannheim perpetrator would have to serve a possible prison sentence in Germany. Whether and when a foreign criminal is deported after serving a prison sentence depends on several factors, including the situation in their home country at the time of their release from prison.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240603-99-252715/10 (dpa)