Agreement in Mannheim - Authorities believe the culprit was likely driven by Islamic extremism.
In Mannheim, a knife attack is suspected to be motivated by Islamist extremism, according to authorities. Recent evidence suggests this was an Islamist-motivated crime, announced Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl in Stuttgart. No links to larger groups have been found so far, suggesting a possible lone actor radicalized by Islamism. The Federal Prosecutor's Office has now taken over the investigation.
On Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan injured five participants in a demonstration by the Islam-critical group Pax Europa and a police officer with a knife. The 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur later died from his injuries. The attacker was also shot but has not yet been questioned.
Strobl pointed out that Islamist radicalized individuals are particularly dangerous as they don't communicate in groups and are difficult to monitor. The 25-year-old was unknown to the police before the attack.
The man arrived in Germany in 2013 as a teenager and filed an asylum application. His application was denied in 2014, but a deportation ban was imposed, likely due to his age. He lived with his wife and two young children in Heppenheim, Hesse, most recently.
On Monday evening, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe announced its intention to take over the investigation, citing the case's "special significance." "We suspect a religious motive for the crime," said a spokesperson. It is believed the attacker wanted to deny Islam-critical individuals their right to free expression.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser cautioned against general suspicion towards Muslims and vowed to crack down on extremists. "We will not be divided by extremists and terrorists," she said in Berlin. "We differentiate between Muslims who are part of us and Islamists, whom we will fight with all our might." Faeser added that she's glad the Federal Prosecutor has taken over the case, citing "clear indications of an Islamic motive." Security authorities are monitoring the Islamic scene closely, and no other extremist actions will be tolerated, she said.
Faeser also noted that the Afghan, who had no prior police record, was not deportable before the attack. While his wife is German, this information was not confirmed by the LKA when asked.
After the deadly knife attack, demands for stricter deportations of foreign criminals have risen. Several union-led states support the proposal from the Hamburg Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) to deport heavily criminal foreigners to Afghanistan and Syria in the future. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said those who become "conspicuously Islamic" in Germany should also be deported to countries like Afghanistan.
The top Union faction welcomed these initiatives from the SPD and FDP. Union faction spokesperson Thorsten Frei and CSU state group leader Alexander Dobrindt criticized the traffic light government (SPD, Greens, and FDP) for inaction on this matter. Dobrindt stated that the Mannheim perpetrator must serve his sentence in Germany.
Strobl also urged for more consistent deportations of foreign criminals. He mentioned that there are safe areas in Afghanistan where people can be taken.
The parliamentary group leader of the AfD in the Bundestag, Bernd Baumann, requested a minute of silence for the murdered police officer in the Bundestag.
The Mannheim police vice president, Ulrike Schäfer, expressed deep sorrow over Laur's death. At the same time, she criticized the hatred and incitement on social media following the horrific event. Those who worked with Laur and witnessed the unfortunate incident are currently receiving psychological care.
Read also:
- The knife attack in Mannheim is being investigated by the Office of the Attorney General in Karlsruhe due to its "special significance."
- Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl mentioned that the attack in Mannheim occurred in the European country of Germany.
- After the knife attack in Mannheim, demands for stricter deportations of foreign criminals have risen in Hesse, a state in Germany.
- The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Europe believes the attacker in the Mannheim knife attack was driven by a religious motive.
- In response to the knife attack in Mannheim, the SPD parliamentary group leader, Christian Dürr, suggested deporting individuals who become "conspicuously Islamic" to countries like Afghanistan.
- In the aftermath of the knife attack in Mannheim, the top Union faction criticized the traffic light government (SPD, Greens, and FDP) for inaction on the matter of foreign criminal deportations.
- Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, a German politician, urged authorities to monitor the Islamic scene closely and not tolerate any extremist actions.
- The 25-year-old suspect in the Mannheim knife attack arrived in Germany in 2013 as a teenager and initially filed an asylum application, which was denied in 2014.
- The man responsible for the deadly knife attack in Mannheim lived with his wife and two young children in Heppenheim, a city in the German state of Hesse.
