German Police shot a man armed with a knife who attacked far-right demo

• The man, a bearded man in glasses, attacked people in the city’s central Marktplatz square.
• Someone shot and wounded the attacker, who had stabbed one person in the leg and cut a policeman in the neck.
• Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expressed concern over the injured police officer and Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

German police announced that they shot and wounded a knife-wielding man who attacked a right-wing demonstration in the southwestern city of Mannheim on Friday. Social media footage depicted a bearded man in glasses attacking people in the city’s central Marktplatz square with a knife. A person appears to have been stabbed in the leg, and a policeman, who attempts to intervene, appears to have been cut in the neck. Subsequently, another policeman shoots the attacker.

Mannheim police stated in a statement that they used a firearm against the attacker, with a rescue helicopter in attendance. No information was available on the identity or motives of the attacker, and police indicated that they could not yet provide details about any injuries among the demonstrators in the square.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expressed her thoughts, especially focusing on the seriously injured police officer, in a social media post.

A livestream broadcast from central Mannheim depicted anti-Islam activist Michael Stuerzenberger preparing to address a small crowd at an event organized by the anti-Islam Pax Europa Movement. The footage displayed a watermark linked to the movement’s “Open Eyes” tour.

The violence occurs in the final stretch of a European Parliament campaign, during which the far-right Alternative for Germany party has campaigned partially on what the party asserts is the danger posed by migration from Muslim countries.

“If investigations show an Islamist motive behind the attack, that would be yet another confirmation of the great danger posed by Islamist violence, which we have been warning about,” Faeser, a Social Democrat, added.

“The attacker must be punished severely,” added Chancellor Olaf Scholz in another post.

Stuerzenberger, 59, who identifies himself as an Islam-critical journalist, has been affiliated with several far-right anti-Islam organizations, including the PEGIDA movement, which holds regular marches in cities, especially in eastern Germany. Police stated that there was no longer any immediate danger to the public.

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