A 17 year old surrendered today to the authorities at Germany stating that he is one of the perpetrators of the attack the day before yesterday, Friday, against the social democrat MEP Matias Eke that shocked the country, the German police announced.

The young man surrendered to the police early today in Dresdenin eastern Germany, and said he was “the assailant who hit the SPD politician,” of Chancellor Olaf Solz’s Social Democratic Party, during a poster campaign for the upcoming European elections, police said in a statement.

The investigation is ongoing and police are working to corroborate the 17-year-old’s statements, a police spokesman said.

Eke was brutally beaten by four assailants on Friday night during a poster display in the East German city. He was taken to the hospital and had to undergo surgery.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers were dressed in black and said they appeared to belong to a far-right group.

The other three suspects are still at large, police said. Police believe they are between 17 and 20 years old.

Eke is the SPD’s lead candidate in the state of Saxony in June’s European elections. He is an MEP from 2022.

The attack sparked shock and outrage in Germany, with politicians from various parties condemning the violence and warning of a threat to German democracy.

A few minutes before the attack on Eke, according to the police, a group of four had attacked a 28-year-old Green campaigner during a poster-hanging in the same area of ​​Dresden.