Knife violence in Germany has become the focus of public attention following the Mannheim attack, and security authorities are alarmed. NRW recently presented more precise figures on the suspects.
The video images of the attack by suspected Islamist Sulaiman Ataee (25) on May 31st are having an impact on the German security authorities. The Afghan’s large knife repeatedly flies at his victims shortly before the rally of Islam critic Michael Stürzenberger. The perpetrator stabs police officer Rouven L. in the neck from behind. The officer dies a few days later. There is great horror nationwide about the act, which was probably motivated by Islam. With a view to the European Football Championship starting on Friday, such knife attacks represent the worst case scenario.
“The case is a nightmare,” explains a high-ranking state security officer from North Rhine-Westphalia. “The perpetrator was not known to the security authorities, no one noticed how the Afghan became radicalized, and it is difficult to do anything about that.” Such extremists fly under the security radar. It is those simple attacks with stabbing weapons by inconspicuous lone perpetrators that are at the top of the list of possible attack scenarios for counterterrorism. For years, the terrorist militia “Islamic State” and Al Qaeda have been calling for knife attacks against the “infidels” (Kuffar).
A Syrian IS supporter was recently sentenced to life imprisonment in Duisburg. 27-year-old Maan D. stabbed a man of Turkish origin and seriously injured four men in a gym. “I wanted to kill as many people as possible and then die as a martyr,” D. explained during the trial. At the beginning of December 2023, a German tourist died from stabbings by a convicted Islamist in Paris. The examples could easily be continued.
Aside from politically motivated crimes, knife violence is increasing dramatically across the country. The number of attacks with stabbing weapons in North Rhine-Westphalia alone has risen significantly. This is the result of a report that NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) presented to the Interior Committee of the State Parliament a week ago in response to a request from the SPD. According to the report, the number rose by 22.4 percent from 5081 to 6221 cases last year compared to 2022.
NRW, the knife country, is the name that could be used to describe the alarming results. However, it should be noted that hardly any other federal state examines the crime phenomenon so precisely in its own situation report. As FOCUS online learned from police circles, the new report on the growing knife violence will be published in the coming weeks. In it, the respective district police authorities will also describe and analyze the motives of the perpetrators, their origins and the various regional problems.
One in three of the 5,700 suspects recorded in the Rhine and Ruhr regions in 2023 were under 21 years old. Almost 87 percent were male. Almost every second accused did not have a German passport. The current report lists 2,992 German nationals among the suspects. The respective migration background is not recorded. Consequently, the German-Turk Mert V. also falls into this category. The 15-year-old repeat offender is said to have stabbed two Ukrainian basketball players to death at the train station in Oberhausen in February as the alleged leader of a gang with a 14-year-old German-Greek and two underage Syrians. In second place on the list of stabbers are Syrian suspects (469), followed by Turkish (298), Iraqi (159) and Romanian (152) attackers.
Sometimes psychological problems also play a role. In January 2023, the Palestinian Ibrahim A. ran amok on a regional train near Brokstedt (Schleswig-Holstein). In his frenzy, he stabbed a young couple and injured four passengers, some of them seriously. In the main hearing, an expert diagnosed the perpetrator with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – triggered by his experiences in Palestine and the escape. The court followed this assessment in its verdict. Nevertheless, this diagnosis does not suggest a psychiatric illness. Rather, it is a mental disorder, according to the jury chamber. The PTSD did not affect the perpetrator’s ability to understand or control his actions. Ibrahim A. received a life sentence. The regional court also determined that the guilt was particularly serious. This means that the murderer will not be released after 15 years.
The security authorities are concerned that stabbing weapons are increasingly being used in confrontations. “Knives are being carried more and more often and they are being used more and more often,” reports Michael Mertens, head of the police union (GdP) in North Rhine-Westphalia. The saying that is often heard among young men in particular is that they only took the knife with them to defend themselves. In an interview with FOCUS online last year, the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister was already concerned “that the affinity for violence is apparently increasing, especially among children. The perception is that where fists used to fly, young people today reach for knives or kick a defenseless opponent again.” This assessment has not changed.
According to the current NRW report, 31.1 percent of the more than 8,000 knife victims were younger than 21 years old and predominantly male (76.5 percent). German victims (4,956) predominate, followed by Syrian (475), Turkish (349), Iraqi (174) and Polish victims (161). Three percent of the attacks (198) were homicides.
The figures brought the NRW opposition into action. SPD MP Christina Kampmann called on the state interior minister to take action. The increasing number of attacks with stabbing weapons is an extremely dangerous development, said Kampmann. “The state government has not yet succeeded in getting this development under control.”
There was a demand to follow the example of Lower Saxony. Hanover had introduced an amendment to the law in the Bundesrat. According to this, all switchblades and stabbing weapons with fixed blades with a blade length of six centimeters or more should be banned nationwide. NRW should support this initiative, demanded FDP interior expert Marc Lürbke: “We finally need consistent deterrence that actually has an effect,” warned the MP. Knives have no place at parties, festivals, schoolyards and on trains. The much-quoted “punishment on the spot” is often simply not available in NRW due to a completely overburdened justice system. Accelerated procedures should be used wherever possible.
The German Press Agency quoted parliamentarian Julia Höller as saying that it is not the tools of the Interior Ministry that will solve these problems. The Green Party politician pointed to more intelligent protective measures, such as the initiative of the Dortmund police chief, who wants to prohibit repeat offenders from carrying knives in public. In addition, the NRW police have set up weapon-free zones on neuralgic party streets or places with high crime rates in Cologne city center or Düsseldorf’s old town. “However, the personnel required to carry out extensive checks in these zones is enormous, which is why this model cannot be applied across the board in all cities,” said NRW police circles.
State Interior Minister Reul has no objections to stricter gun laws. However, this will not be enough, the minister explained to the Interior Committee. Violations in the gun-free zones in North Rhine-Westphalia already carry a fine of up to 2,000 euros. 4,000 people have been checked. In addition, as Interior Minister he is not responsible for speeding up court proceedings.
AfD MP Markus Wagner suggested that knife attacks should always be considered attempted murder under criminal law because the death of the victim is accepted. All too often, public prosecutors and courts in Germany’s most populous state downgrade the charge from manslaughter or attempted murder to grievous bodily harm as soon as the victim survives the attack. Regardless of whether and what kind of health damage is caused by the attack.