A new knife attack has hit Germany. This time the city where the violence took place is Aschaffenburg, in Bavaria . The victims are a two-year-old child and a man who set himself on fire while trying to protect the children. Three other people were injured: a 61-year-old man, a Syrian girl and a teacher. According to the German press, the police have arrested a suspect, a 28-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, who allegedly tried to escape by crossing the town's railway tracks.
The man, who suffered from mental problems and had a criminal record, allegedly voluntarily attacked the children who were with their educators in Schöntal Park. The reasons for the attack are still unknown.
Park classified as a "dangerous place"
The nine-hectare Schöntal Park was largely cordoned off. In November, the police had classified the area as a "dangerous place." The arrest was made quickly, probably because many patrols are active in the area.
The victims
A 41-year-old man, a passerby who intervened to protect the children, and a two-year-old boy of Moroccan origin were the victims of the knife attack in Schöntal Park in Aschaffenburg, the Lower Franconia police reported. "We currently assume that the 41-year-old bravely intervened to protect the children, fought back against the perpetrator and was then fatally wounded by the perpetrator," the authorities explained. The man acted with great courage and in an exemplary manner, but unfortunately paid for his intervention with his life. Passers-by bravely chased the perpetrator until the police caught him.
Direct aggression towards children
According to the local newspaper Main-Echo, "the educators were walking with the children in Schöntal Park when they noticed a man following them and tried to leave the park. But the man allegedly attacked them with a knife." The 28-year-old was "apparently specifically targeting the children."
The injured, the motive is being sought
A 61-year-old man, who is currently hospitalized, was injured in the attack, as was a two-and-a-half-year-old Syrian girl and a teacher. Another person received psychological treatment on the spot. The other children were taken by their parents and also received psychological treatment. It is not yet clear whether the crime was motivated by terrorism. "Investigations into the motive have been launched," a police spokesman said, asking for no speculation.
The suspect: had mental problems and a history of violence
The 28-year-old Afghan arrested for the knife attack in Aschaffenburg Park had arrived in Germany in 2022 and applied for asylum in 2023. The Bavarian Interior Minister announced this, adding: "On 4 December, the suspect himself announced his voluntary departure (...). On 11 December, the Bamf then definitively interrupted the asylum procedure and asked the person concerned to leave the country." Suffering from mental problems, the Afghan citizen had been treated in psychiatric care several times and had several previous convictions for violence. He had also announced that he wanted to leave the Federal Republic of Germany voluntarily, but had not yet done so.
Scholz: "In Bavaria an incredible act of terrorism"
"An incredible act of terror in Aschaffenburg: among the dead is also a child. Our condolences go to the victims and their families," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a statement on the attack in Bavaria. "But it is not enough: I am fed up with similar acts of violence that occur here every week. By people who actually came to us for protection. A false sense of tolerance is completely out of place. The authorities must do everything they can to find out why the attacker was still in Germany. The consequences must be immediate after the investigation, not just talk."
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