German politician attacked in Mannheim amid rising tensions following fatal stabbing of police officer
Germany police
Five days after a police officer was fatally stabbed in Mannheim's market square, a local politician was attacked in the German city.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party candidate for a local election was left with cuts in the attack, according to German news agency DPA.
Authorities confirmed that the incident occurred on Tuesday night, near the location of the fatal attack on Friday that killed a 29-year-old cop and targeted the organisers of a protest against radical Islam.
They claimed the lawmaker was rushed to hospital for treatment, but had not suffered life-threatening injuries.
The local AfD group said its candidate had pursued after a guy pulling down election signs, who then slashed him with a knife.
Senior AfD politicians recognised the victim of Tuesday's attack as Heinrich Koch, 62, a candidate competing in this weekend's municipal election in Mannheim.
Police in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg said they apprehended a 25-year-old suspect, who was subsequently transported to a psychiatric institution after displaying evident indications of mental illness.
They emphasised that there was no evidence that he knew the victim was an AfD politician.
The latest incident in Mannheim occurred when an Afghan asylum seeker was seized on suspicion of repeatedly stabbing a police officer, who eventually died in the hospital. Five other individuals were injured in the incident, which occurred as they were preparing for a protest organised by an anti-radical Islam group.
The tragedy generated uproar in Germany, causing the government to announce that it may enable deportations to Afghanistan.
The 25-year-old suspect in Friday's incident is alleged to have come to Germany as a refugee in 2013 and has subsequently had two children.
"We are shocked and dismayed," Markus Frohnmaier, a top AfD official in Baden-Württemberg told German media in response to the latest incident.
(With inputs from agencies)
