Crime - Mannheim knife attacker now in prison
About a month after the fatal stabbing attack on the Mannheim Marketplace, the suspect is now transferred to a detention center. Previously, he was treated in the Mannheim Theresian Hospital and was considered unreachable for a long time. A spokeswoman for the General Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe confirmed the transfer to prison on Saturday, following earlier reports from SWR.
On May 31, the 25-year-old Afghan wounded five men with a knife on the Mannheim Marketplace. A 29-year-old police officer, Rouven Laur, died two days later from his injuries. Another officer shot the attacker down.
The 25-year-old is charged with murder, attempted murder, and grievous bodily harm. It is unclear whether the defendant, who had previously been unresponsive, is now reachable. The spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe authorities declined to comment.
Some police officers who were present at the scene of the incident have not returned to duty yet. The presidium does not provide further information on the condition of the affected police officers.
According to information from the German Press Agency, the suspect came to Germany in 2013 as a teenager and filed an asylum application. The application was rejected in 2014. However, a deportation ban was imposed, presumably due to his young age.
The man had most recently lived with his German wife and two small children in Heppenheim, Hesse - about 35 kilometers northeast of Mannheim. The 25-year-old was previously unknown to the police.
Few days after the attack, the Federal Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation. The highest German prosecution authority assumes a religious motivation for the crime. The suspect took to violent measures, presumably to suppress criticism of Islam, said General Prosecutor Jens Rommel in Karlsruhe. It is an "individual case," which differs from other Islamist-motivated cases.
The crime triggered an intense debate on stricter deportations of foreign criminals. As a consequence of the fatal stabbing attack, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) intends to enable the deportation of serious criminals to Afghanistan and Syria again.
- The suspect involved in the fatal knife attack at the Mannheim Marketplace, which occurred in May, has been transferred to a detention center in Karlsruhe.
- The accused, a 25-year-old man from Afghanistan, allegedly stabbed five men in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and resulted in the death of a 29-year-old police officer, Rouven Laur.
- The General Prosecutor's Office in Mannheim confirmed the suspect's transfer to prison, following his release from the Mannheim Theresian Hospital.
- The attacker had been unreachable for an extended period before being held accountable for the crime, according to a spokeswoman from the prosecutor's office.
- Public broadcaster SWR initially reported about the transfer of the suspect to prison, which was later confirmed by the authorities.
- The suspect had previously lived with his German wife and two children in Heppenheim, Hesse, and his violent actions were presumed to be motivated by extremist beliefs against Islam.
