June 2 (UPI) — A German police officer who was among the half dozen people injured in a mass stabbing attack in Mannheim on Friday has died of his injuries, authorities said Sunday.
The officer was identified as a 29-year-old man.
View of the crime scene after a knife attack in the city centre in Mannheim, Germany, on Friday. A police officer who was among the six injured in the attack died Sunday, authorities said. Photo by Ronald Wittek/EPA-EFE
He had been stabbed several times in the head and neck Friday by a knife-wielding assailant who seriously injured at total of six people Friday at the market square in Mannheim before being shot by police.
The unidentified officer was immediately operated on following the attack and had been placed in an artificial coma, but died Sunday afternoon from his injuries.
“We mourn the loss of a police officer who gave his life for our safety,” the Mannheim Police Department said in a statement.
Authorities said the attack began at about 11:35 a.m. local time Friday, targeting a rally in support of Buergerbewegung Pax Europa, a far-right, anti-hijab movement in Germany.
Video of the incident posted online shows a man with the knife frantically and seemingly randomly attacking people in the square, including a police officer who is seen kneeling upon a man amid the chaos.
The attack came to an end with a responding police officer shooting the assailant.
The attacker has since been identified by local police as a 25-year-old Afghan native who has lived in Germany since 2014. He is married, has two children and lives with his family in Heppenheim, which is located about 19 miles northeast of Mannheim.
Police said Saturday that the suspect remained in hospital and was incapable of being interrogated.
An arrest warrant for attempted murder has been issued for the suspect, authorities said before the officer had died.
The other victims of the stabbing were all men aged 25, 36, 42, 54 and 59. Three of them are German, one is a German-Kazakh citizen and the fifth was an Iraqi citizen.
As of Saturday, only the 25-year-old has been discharged from the hospital. The condition of a 54-year-old who suffered life-threatening injuries has also improved and he is expected to survive, according to officials.
The suspect’s house was searched Friday night and electronic devices were seized, authorities said.