Attack on the market square: After Mannheim knife attack: Public prosecutor issues arrest warrant for murder

A man attacked several people with a knife on a market square in Mannheim, including the Islam critic Michael Stürzenberger. Police officer Rouven L. died from his serious injuries. All news about the attack in the news ticker.

Monday, June 24, 3:31 p.m.: After the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, an arrest warrant has been issued for the perpetrator. 25-year-old Sulaiman A. is accused of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced in Karlsruhe on Monday. The perpetrator had not been able to be questioned since the knife attack at the end of May, after he himself was shot during the attack.

Monday, June 17, 6:33 a.m.: The knife attacker from Mannheim is no longer in danger of death and is responsive, as “Bild” reports. Sulaiman A. is still not fit to be questioned, however. According to reports, the bullet with which the police struck down the attacker hit his abdominal aorta. However, the bullet has since been removed.

Saturday, June 15, 2:35 p.m.: Around two weeks after the terrible knife attack in Mannheim, the attacker is still unable to be questioned. As “Mannheim24” now reports, the 25-year-old was put into an artificial coma following emergency surgery shortly after the attack and is in critical condition.

On May 31, Sulaiman A. injured five men, some seriously; a police officer succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Thursday, June 13, 5:37 p.m.: 17-year-old repeat offender Baraa S. made fun of the victims of the fatal knife attack in Mannheim. As “Bild” reports, the man shared a video of the attack on his Instagram channel, adding laughing smileys and a waving hand. He also shared a photo in which he is holding a combat knife that resembles the weapon used in Mannheim.

According to reports, the man from Syria has been attracting attention almost daily since the end of February for various crimes in Hamburg. These mainly involve repeated thefts. But the 17-year-old has also been involved in fights, and he does not shy away from attacking police officers. Baraa S. is said to have used pepper spray against officers in order to escape from them.

Two weeks ago, a 25-year-old Afghan injured five participants of a rally by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and a police officer with a knife on Mannheim’s market square. The 29-year-old officer, Rouven L., was fatally injured. Around 2,000 guests are expected at the official memorial service on Friday (11 a.m.) in Mannheim.

6:56 p.m.: The Mannheim police are planning a public memorial service on June 14 for the police officer who was fatally injured in a knife attack. It will take place in the Rosengarten Congress Center, the police headquarters announced on Friday evening. As space is limited, only relatives, invited guests and employees of the Mannheim police headquarters will be able to attend. However, there will be an outside broadcast in the outdoor area on Friedrichsplatz, in the immediate vicinity of the memorial service, to give as many people as possible the opportunity to mourn.

5.45 p.m.: Gitta Connemann, head of the powerful CDU business wing, has called for faster decisions when it comes to deporting criminal migrants in response to the fatal knife attack on a police officer on Mannheim’s market square. “The rule of law is increasingly becoming a toothless tiger,” the MP criticized in an interview with FOCUS news magazine. “If punishments or deportations take too long, the population loses confidence that the state can still protect them.”

The Union parliamentary group’s vice-chair Andrea Lindholz (CSU) is in favor of more weapon-free zones, especially on trains and at train stations. “Lots of people gather there and can hardly get out of the way if they are attacked,” said the interior politician in an interview with FOCUS. Most recently, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) called for a knife ban on buses and trains a year ago. However, this has not yet been implemented. “Deeds, not just words, are crucial to improving security,” criticizes Lindholz.

4.25 p.m.: According to a decision by the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg on Friday evening, the AfD is not allowed to demonstrate on Mannheim’s market square, where a week earlier, among other things, a police officer was stabbed. On Friday, the highest administrative court in the southwest upheld an appeal by the city of Mannheim against a decision by the Administrative Court of Karlsruhe, which had given the green light for the demonstration at the crime scene. The demonstration is planned for 6 p.m. and could now take place on Paradeplatz. According to the court, the decision of the Administrative Court is final.

3:49 p.m.: Investigators have discovered an audio file on the cell phone of the knife attacker. As the “Spiegel” reports, citing security circles, it could be an “Islamist motivational message.” Technicians from the State Criminal Police Office were able to reconstruct a Telegram chat on the cell phone that appeared to have already been deleted.

12.12 p.m.: More than 1,000 people took part in the minute’s silence for the police officer killed on Mannheim’s market square on Friday. It is assumed that 1,500 to 2,000 people gathered on the market square, said a police spokeswoman on Friday in the city of 300,000 inhabitants in the north of Baden-Württemberg.

11.36 a.m.: On Friday, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier remembered the police officer Rouven Laur, who was killed a week ago, on Mannheim’s market square. Steinmeier, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) paused in silent mourning at 11.34 a.m. The Baden-Württemberg police had called for a minute’s silence.

At this time, last Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan had injured five members of the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and the 29-year-old officer with a knife in the market square. Laur died of his injuries on Sunday.

Steinmeier laid a bouquet of flowers at the crime scene. Many people gathered on the square in the city of 300,000 inhabitants in northern Baden-Württemberg to remember the man. At the same time, police officers across the country remained in silent mourning.

11.31 a.m.: Before the minute’s silence for the police officer killed in Mannheim, dozens of police officers paid their respects to their colleague. Around 50 officers from the Mannheim police headquarters – according to a spokeswoman, mainly patrol officers – lined up in front of the sea of ​​flowers on the market square and remembered their deceased colleague with their hands folded. The people on the market square also applauded.

The Baden-Württemberg police have called for a minute’s silence at 11:34 a.m. This is when the fatal attack on 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur took place. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to attend the minute’s silence in the city of 300,000 inhabitants in the north of Baden-Württemberg. Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) have also announced their attendance.

Friday, June 7, 7:43 a.m.: The city of Mannheim is preparing for a day of remembrance around a week after the fatal knife attack on the market square. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to be on the market square at 11:34 a.m. on Friday for a minute’s silence for the death of police officer Rouven L. Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) will also be there.

4.18 p.m.: One week after the fatal knife attack on the market square in Mannheim, the AfD is allowed to demonstrate at the scene of the crime according to an emergency decision by the Karlsruhe Administrative Court. This is according to the court ruling from Thursday, which has been made available to the German Press Agency. The demonstration is planned for 6 p.m. on Friday.

Thursday, June 6, 7:53 a.m.: The AfD Baden-Württemberg has filed an urgent application with the Karlsruhe Administrative Court against a ban on demonstrations on Mannheim’s market square. “Two days before the European elections, we want to demonstrate exactly where Islamist terror struck in order to send a clear political signal to the whole republic,” said AfD state chairman Markus Frohnmaier late on Wednesday evening. The city of Mannheim had banned rallies and gatherings on the market square and temporarily declared the square a memorial site until June 16 for the police officer killed in a knife attack.

Last Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan injured five participants in a rally by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and a police officer with a knife. The 29-year-old officer, Rouven L., later succumbed to his injuries. “I believe it is important for us as a city community to be able to remember the murdered man and those injured by the attacker in peace and dignity,” said Mayor Christian Specht (CDU) on Tuesday.

The AfD had called for a demonstration on the market square on Friday evening. At the same time, a counter-demonstration by Antifa was to take place. If the administrative court does not rule in favor of the AfD, the party plans to move to the Paradeplatz in Mannheim.

5.11 p.m.: In memory of the police officer killed in Mannheim, the police are calling for a minute’s silence on Friday – not only in Baden-Württemberg, but also in many other federal states. “The entire population is invited to take part in the minute’s silence,” said the call, which numerous police headquarters published on X on Wednesday.

The police will observe a minute’s silence at 11:34 a.m. At this time on Friday, 29-year-old officer Rouven L. was so badly injured by an attacker with a knife at an anti-Islam rally that he later died in hospital.

After the fatal knife attack, people have already collected more than 530,000 euros on the internet platform gofundme.com. The donations will go to L.’s relatives, among others. A spokesman for the Blumberg Federal Police Department confirmed that the “Alliance of the Blumberg Evidence Preservation and Arrest Unit” association had launched the appeal. Federal police officers founded the association after the fatal collision between two police helicopters in Berlin in 2013 to support the colleagues affected.

12.50 p.m.: An Iraqi citizen bravely intervened when the knife attacker from Mannheim attacked his victims – and in doing so probably prevented something worse from happening. The civilian even held the attacker. “I just ran and held him. I said, God give me strength. I pressed him with my hand,” the man told the “Welt”. He himself was injured and later had to receive medical treatment in hospital.

In the chaos, a man mistakenly hit the brave Iraqi. “I got hit more and I let go of him and I got stabbed in my back,” continued the Iraqi, who said he would do the same thing again: “I like to help. I live here, I love Germany. I do it from the heart. If it happens again, I won’t do it once, I’ll do it a thousand times.”

Wednesday, June 5, 10:16 a.m.: Even five days after the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, the perpetrator is still not fit to be questioned. A spokesman for the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation confirmed this on Wednesday when asked. On Friday, a 25-year-old Afghan injured five participants at a rally of the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and a police officer with a knife. The 29-year-old officer Rouven L. later succumbed to his injuries. Another officer shot the attacker. He was subsequently operated on and has not been able to be questioned since. The perpetrator last lived in Heppenheim, Hesse.

4:05 p.m.: Oliver Z., the cameraman who filmed the knife attack in Mannheim, actually only wanted to support Michael Stürzenberger’s educational work on political Islam. In the end, Z. may have prevented something even worse from happening.

In an interview with “Nius” he described the frightening moments: “I kicked the attacker. My intention was to stop him from causing further damage,” said Oliver Z. He went on to report that the attacker was extremely aggressive and the situation seemed out of control. “It all happened incredibly quickly – my impulse was simply to point the camera at it. I followed everything through my display, I had to capture what I saw,” the cameraman describes the scenes in which the suspected perpetrator stabbed people. “I followed him with the camera, then suddenly the shot rang out.” After the shot rang out, he immediately took care of the injured.

3.37 p.m.: According to the authorities, the knife attack in Mannheim was presumably motivated by Islamism. There is increasing evidence that this was an Islamist-extremist motivated crime, said Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) on Tuesday in Stuttgart. There is also no evidence that the suspected perpetrator is a person who belongs to a larger group. It could be an Islamist radicalized lone perpetrator, said Strobl. These people in particular are particularly dangerous because lone perpetrators do not communicate in groups and are difficult to monitor. The 25-year-old was not previously known to the police.

3:30 a.m.: After the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, further details about the perpetrator are revealed. As “Bild” reports, the suspected perpetrator Sulaiman A. is said to have come to Germany from Afghanistan as a 14-year-old with his brother, as a so-called “unaccompanied minor”. He applied for asylum in Frankfurt and then lived in a youth apartment. Integration seems to be working; Sulaiman A. attends secondary school, takes German courses and even obtains the advanced B2 certificate. Although his asylum application is rejected, he is not deported because he is a minor. As an adult, he moves to Heppenheim and marries a woman with a German passport.

Former companions told Bild that they suspect that Sulaiman A. may have fallen into a group of radical young Islamists in Mannheim, radicalizing himself from a model immigrant to an Islamist. A suspicious YouTube account, on which videos of an Islamist preacher were uploaded, is also said to be linked to Sulaiman A., according to a report in Welt.

Tuesday, June 4, 12:15 a.m.: After the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, there are increasing calls for stricter deportations of foreign criminals. Several CDU-governed federal states supported the proposal by Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) to deport foreigners who commit serious criminal offenses to Afghanistan and Syria in the future. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr also told Bild: “People who show Islamist behavior here should also be deported to countries where this has not been possible so far, such as Afghanistan.”

7.36 p.m.: The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the investigation into the fatal knife attack in Mannheim. The highest German prosecution authority in Karlsruhe justified this on Monday with the “special significance of the case”. “We assume that the crime was religiously motivated,” said a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency. The “Spiegel” was the first to report on this. The spokeswoman explained that it was assumed that the man wanted to deny people critical of Islam their right to freedom of expression.

Read more on the next page.