Germany: Radical Islamist stabs six including police officer, during live-streamed attack at anti-Islamism rally

On Friday morning, May 31, a radical Islamist launched a stabbing spree in Mannheim, Germany, injuring six people, including a police officer. The brutal attack was captured live during a YouTube livestream.

The extremist targeted the event ahead of a political rally organised by Citizens’ Movement Pax Europa (BPE), a group that opposes the growing influence of Islamism in Europe. Michael Stuerzenberger, a prominent critic of Islamism, was scheduled to attend the event.

Five of those injured were participating in the rally organised by BPE, according to police reports. A police officer who intervened was stabbed several times in the back of the head.

“The extent and severity of the injuries are not yet known,” the police stated, adding that the identity of the attacker had not been determined.

Video footage shows the attacker, dressed in dark blue joggers with white stripes, indiscriminately stabbing people in the market square. Despite the efforts of onlookers to stop him, he continued his rampage. The attacker managed to escape confinement and stabbed a police officer multiple times in the neck and torso.

As the violence escalated, another police officer intervened and neutralised the attacker. Paramedics quickly arrived at the scene to assist the victims.

In an official statement, the police reported, “There is currently a major police operation on the market square in Mannheim. A rescue helicopter is also in use. No further information can be provided at this time.”

Notably, Pax Europa stated on its website that one of the victims was Michael Stuerzenberger, a German far-right activist and blogger, who had been scheduled to participate in the rally. Stuerzenberger sustained serious stab wounds to his face and leg, according to the group.

Stuerzenberger has been a prominent anti-Islam campaigner in Germany for several years. The Bavarian security services have accused him of making “Islamophobic statements” and have classified Pax Europa as an Islamophobic organisation.

“If the investigations reveal an Islamist motive, this would be a further confirmation of the great danger posed by Islamist acts of violence,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Germany has been on high alert for potential Islamist attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with the country’s domestic intelligence chief warning that the risk of such assaults is “real and higher than it has been for a long time.”

The country has also experienced a spate of attacks on politicians at work or on the campaign trail ahead of the European Parliament elections on June 9. Matthias Ecke, a European Parliament lawmaker for Scholz’s SPD party, was attacked this month by a group of youths while putting up election posters in Dresden. Days later, former Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey was hit on the head and neck with a bag while visiting a library in Berlin.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern over the growing trend, stating that Germans “must never get used to violence in the battle of political opinions.”