BERLIN (AP) 鈥� An assailant with a knife attacked and wounded several people in a central square in the southwestern German city of Mannheim on Friday, police said. Police shot the attacker, who also was hurt.
Police said the violence happened shortly after 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT). They said that they couldn't immediately give any information on the severity of the injuries, or specify exactly how many people were hurt. The victims included a police officer.
They said in a statement that there was no longer any danger to the public. There was no official word on the motive.
A group called Pax Europa, which describes itself as an organization that informs the public about the dangers posed by the 鈥渋ncreasing spread and influence of political Islam,鈥� said that the attack happened on the sidelines of an event it organized. It said that Michael St眉rzenberger, an anti-Islam activist who has spoken at its events. was among those wounded.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that it's up to the investigation to determine a motive. She said in a statement that 鈥渋f the investigation shows an Islamist motive, that would be another confirmation of the great danger from Islamist acts of violence that we have warned of.鈥�
Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X that 鈥渢he pictures from Mannheim are terrible鈥� and that 鈥渧iolence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy.鈥�
The stabbings happened on the Marktplatz, a square in Mannheim鈥檚 downtown area. The city of about 300,000 people is located south of Frankfurt.
The Associated Press
