Germany mourns knife attack victims as Afghan suspect investigated

Aschaffenburg, Germany, Jan 24, (dpa/GNA) – The southern German city of Aschaffenburg, on Thursday mourned the victims of a deadly knife attack on a group of children, as investigators searched for a motive, and lawmakers questioned why the Afghan suspect was not deported earlier.

Mayor Jürgen Herzing warned of a “spiral of violence and hatred” following the incident, in which a 2-year-old child and a 41-year-old man were killed, and three others injured in a park in the Bavarian city.

At a wreath-laying ceremony, Herzing said there were “parallels” to December’s car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, which left six people dead.

“A refugee attacks, injures and kills innocent people,” Herzing said. “We can see the parallels.”

The suspect in Wednesday’s attack in Aschaffenburg is a 28-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, believed to have had a history of mental health illnesses.

“We can and must never attribute the act of one individual to an entire population group,” Herzing said, even if residents experience anger, grief and “thoughts of revenge.”

The mayor said he was “shaken up” by the stabbing.

“I feel as if my own child had died – or my brother had died or been injured,” said Herzing. “I think it’s the same for many others.”

A funeral service is to be held in Aschaffenburg on Sunday, the mayor confirmed, while an alliance of local organizations is planning a silent commemoration in the park on Thursday evening.

A police spokesman confirmed that the three people seriously injured are still in hospital but “out of danger.”

According to Bavarian Health Minister Judith Gerlach, a 2-year-old girl was stabbed three times in the neck area with a kitchen knife, while a 72-year-old man suffered multiple injuries to his chest and a 59-year-old nursery teacher broke her arm.

Police are relying on witnesses to clarify the course of events, including whether the suspect specifically attacked children from a day-care centre group.

Around 10 witness statements have already been received.

“There are all sorts of things. This now needs to be analysed,” said the police spokesman.

Suspect to be brought before magistrate

The suspect is expected to be brought before a magistrate later on Thursday.

The judge is set to decide whether the 28-year-old will be placed in a psychiatric facility or remanded in custody.

According to the latest information, the 2-year-old boy who was killed in the attack was from Morocco, while an injured girl is from Syria.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said investigators would need to clear up whether the suspect intentionally attacked “children with a migration background.”

Herrmann, said earlier that investigators have found no evidence that the suspect, had Islamist motives.

The minister told regional public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk on Thursday, that reforms are needed to laws for patients with serious mental illnesses.

“It is not easy, under our understanding of freedom, to decide that someone must come to a closed facility and be locked up,” Herrmann said. “But of course we also have to recognize the obvious risks for our population.”

His comments were echoed by Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, who said he would seek to “toughen up” regulations.

Herrmann said the suspect had been assigned a case worker, after being admitted to a specialist clinic at least three times, following violent incidents.

He was subsequently released, but continued taking medication.

Herrmann also suggested that laws should be reformed to allow for the possibility of deporting migrants, immediately after they are released from hospital.

“In the case of foreigners, we must of course ensure that when such situations arise, as a rule, someone can be deported directly from hospitalization,” the minister said.

Herrmann offered further information on why the Afghan national was not deported before the attack.

He said Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), rejected the Afghan’s application for asylum in June 2023, and ordered him to be deported to Bulgaria under EU migration rules.

However, “due to whatever errors and problems,” immigration authorities in the southern state of Bavaria were only alerted of the pending deportation on July 26, just six days before the deadline for its execution expired.

“Such a return cannot be organized within six days – especially if it comes completely unprepared,” said Herrmann.

After the deadline was missed, the 28-year-old suspect was left alone until he told authorities in December 2024, that he wanted to return to Afghanistan.

However, he was unable to travel home, as he did not receive necessary documents from the Afghan consulate, Herrmann said.

The minister also added that deporting the man to Afghanistan would have been a serious challenge.

Germany does not have diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime, although it did organize one deportation flight to Kabul in 2024.

GNA