A 27-year-old is said to have killed a 23-year-old man in a prefabricated building on Friday evening in Wolmirstedt, a small town north of Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt, and later injured three people at a private European Championship party.
What is known about the course of events?
According to police, the man initially attacked a 23-year-old with a knife in an apartment building in a prefabricated housing estate. The victim is said to have succumbed to his injuries that evening. According to police, both the perpetrator and the victim are Afghan citizens.
The perpetrator then walked “aimlessly” through Wolmirstedt. As the Magdeburg People’s Voice writesthe attacker also threatened other people in an allotment garden.
At around 9 p.m., the man is said to have entered the private property of a single-family home on Wolmirstedt’s Genossenschaftsweg, where several residents had gathered in the garden to watch the opening match of the European Championship. Shortly after kickoff, the attacker appeared in the courtyard and stabbed several guests, the police reported. Three people were injured in the attack: a 50-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man seriously, and a 56-year-old man slightly. When the perpetrator ran out onto the street, the police arrived.
What do we know about the perpetrator?
When the police arrived, the man allegedly attacked them as well. The police then fired Officers shot him. The suspected perpetrator died a short time later in hospital from his gunshot wounds. Initially it was reported that the man had died on the spot. According to police, the perpetrator is 27 years old and comes from Afghanistan. It is not known what his relationship was to the Afghan who was killed.
Were there witnesses?
Eyewitnesses in the allotment garden called the police. Local residents also witnessed the events. It is still unclear how many guests were at the private party. According to a police spokeswoman, those affected are currently receiving psychological support.
What do we know about the motive? Are the two crimes connected?
It is still unclear why the 27-year-old first killed one person and then attacked the people at the European Championship party and officials. There is no evidence of a religious background, the police said on Saturday. According to a report by Picture According to reports, the two men had gotten into an argument in the apartment building. Public prosecutor Frank Baumgarten said it was important to “further clarify” the man’s motive.
What happens next?
The Magdeburg public prosecutor’s office has begun investigations, it was said. The police in Stendal in northern Saxony-Anhalt are also investigating the use of firearms. The police station there is receiving all the help it needs to clarify the events. “We are now interviewing witnesses – which can be very time-consuming in such a case,” said a police spokeswoman when asked by the German Press Agency. The police will announce further details of the case at a press conference in Magdeburg on Sunday afternoon.
Will the police officers be prosecuted?
An investigation has been launched against the police officers who shot the attacker. In such cases, it is usual for the reasons why the police officers used their firearms to be investigated. That will be the focus, said prosecutor Baumgarten. However, as things stand, he sees no evidence that the shots fired by two officers at the attacker were fired unlawfully.
Are there any reactions to the incident?
There was great dismay beyond the city limits of Wolmirstedt. Saxony-Anhalt’s Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) was “deeply appalled by the unpredictable and terrible attack.” Her thoughts were with the victims and all those involved, who suffered not only physical but also psychological damage, said the politician, pointing out that police presence in the state had been increased following the incident.
Last week, the criminal policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Sebastian Fiedler, warned in a parliamentary group meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) that something urgently needed to be done about the increase in knife attacks and that the high numbers of non-German suspects could not be ignored. “People expect solutions, decisions, clarity on the matter,” he stressed. More money is also needed for the federal police and the Federal Criminal Police Office. “If we do not understand that one of people’s greatest concerns is that the state is not keeping its promise of security, that shows a major deficit between self-perception and external perception,” Fiedler told the SZ.
Are knife attacks particularly common?
According to police crime statistics, the proportion of knife attacks causing dangerous and serious bodily harm rose to 8,951 cases in the reporting year 2023, or 5.8 percent (compared to the comparison year 2022 – 8,160 cases, 5.6 percent).
What are those responsible doing to counteract this development?
On Friday, the Federal Council had already approved a Lower Saxony initiative to tighten gun laws. “The sharp increase in the number of knife attacks is extremely dangerous and has a devastating effect on citizens’ sense of security,” said Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) according to the German Press Agency. The aim of the initiative is to quickly implement the announced reform of gun laws and to add a general ban on switchblades and other blades longer than six centimeters in public. “The murderous attack on a police officer in Mannheim is unfortunately just the particularly terrible tip of the iceberg,” said Behrens. A general ban on knives in local public transport is also being discussed, and gun-free zones are to be expanded nationwide.