Political reactions, disgust, fear and concern are caused by the new attack, the fourth specifically against a German politician in the last month. This time the incident happened at around 11.30 in the morning in a central square of Mannheim in Baden-Württemberg during an event of the Islamophobic political organization Pax Europa, when in front of the cameras a man attacked with a knife and injured gathered people, at least five according to the latest information.

According to the police information broadcast by German media, the target of the attack was the well-known 58-year-old far-right activist Michael Stürzenberger, a key member of the anti-Islamic “movement” Pax Europa and a columnist for the far-right website Political Incorrect, which in the past had connections with Islamophobic and anti-immigrant movement Pegida.

During the attack, a police officer was also wounded by a knife in the neck, who, according to the newspaper Bild, was taken to the emergency room for surgery. The attacker was also shot by the police who were in the area, while his motives still remain unclear. For their part, members of Pax Europa speak of a “terrorist act” in Bild.

Immediate condemnation by Soltz and Feser

A little while ago Chancellor Olaf Solz said in a post on Platform X: “The images from Mannheim are terrifying. More people were seriously injured by one attacker. My thoughts are with the victims. Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy. The perpetrator must be severely punished.”

And the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Feser, in her statements to Bild, appears shocked, among other things, declaring: “The knife attack in Mannheim is a heinous crime. The images of this brutal act of violence are shocking. I wish the victims a speedy recovery.”

The German Minister of the Interior also made a special mention of the seriously injured police officer. “I would like to thank the police forces for their immediate intervention, the doctors and rescuers who are fighting for the lives of the victims of this heinous act.”

Sturchenberger’s far-right past

According to German media, Michael Sturchenberger, who is said to be the main figure of the attack in the Mannheim square, was in the past a press representative of the Bavarian Christian Socialists (CSU), but also later the head of the now dissolved Freedom party.

He has also been targeted by the Federal Constitution Protection Agency. He had also come out strongly against the construction of a mosque in Munich, which caused outrage in Islamist circles.

Meanwhile in Cologne, on Friday afternoon an incident involving a woman threatening passers-by with a knife also caused a disturbance, as well as the calling of emergency authorities in the Deutsch district, according to a local police spokesman.

As the N-TV network broadcasts, after constant calls from the police, she did not let go of the knife, she approached the police holding it, and finally a shot was heard. The woman was injured and taken to a Cologne hospital, without serious and life-threatening injuries.