A politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany party was attacked with a knife in the western German city of Mannheim. The candidate of the neo-Nazi sympathetic group, who is running in the local elections, was taken to hospital. One of the attackers was arrested. – We are shocked and terrified – says the local head of the party structure, which has been using the language of hate for years.
According to local structures affiliated with the Alternative for Germany party, the accident occurred on Tuesday at 10:45 pm near the market square in Mannheim. It was reported that the politician caught a person tearing down election posters, and when he confronted her, he was attacked and stabbed. He also added that the AfD candidate is still in hospital, but his injuries are not serious.
Emil Satze, spokesman for the Alternative for Germany party, said in an interview with the Bild daily newspaper that the victim of the attack was Heinrich K. 62 years old. He said that three people participated in the attack, two of whom are still at large. The spokesman said that the AfD politician was attacked with a cutting machine. He added that he received stitches in the hospital.
Bild wrote that the injured party recorded the incident on his phone. As reported, the video shows the politician running after the young man and shouting “Stop! Stop!” The German daily newspaper reported, “The fugitive carried with him several AfD election posters, and possibly a chopping tool in his hand. Then a fight broke out, during which a man was seen brandishing a knife.”
“We are shocked and terrified”
The Alternative for Germany party claims that left-wing extremists are responsible for the attack, but there is no evidence of this – writes the German news agency.
“We are shocked and horrified,” said Markus Frohnmayer, the local head of a far-right group that has been using hate speech for years.
This is another knife attack that happened recently in Mannheim. On Friday, a man with a knife wounded six people in the city center during an event organized by the “Pax Europe” movement critical of Islam. Among those injured was the responding police officer, who died of his injuries on Sunday.
Main image source: Thomas Frey/DPA/PAP
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