The newly-elected mayor of a town in western Germany is in critical condition after a stabbing attack outside her home, local media reported Tuesday.
Iris Stalzer, a 57-year-old mother of two teenagers, was found with life-threatening injuries at around midday local time in the Ruhr city of Herdecke, and has been airlifted to hospital, police told CNN.
Her life “remains in danger,” according to a Hagen Police statement.
Police said that there is no indication the attack was politically motivated, and there may be a family connection. “Based on current information, there are no indications that the attack was politically motivated. A family background is assumed,” the statement wrote.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government had received news of the “heinous crime.”
“We fear for the life of the mayor-elect, Iris Stalzer, and hope for her full recovery. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones,” Merz said on X.
Stalzer, standing for the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), was elected mayor of Herdecke in a runoff vote on September 28. She is due to take office in November.
The city administration in Herdecke said it was in “shock and disbelief,” without providing further details of the attack, which was reported by German tabloid Bild and local public broadcaster WDR. Authorities have not confirmed a motive.
In a later update, police said the investigation is “looking into all possibilities,” and that a family connection to the crime has not been ruled out.
There has been a string of attacks on German politicians in recent years. The country was rocked by the 2019 murder of Walter Lübcke, a local government official who supported the pro-refugee policies of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel. Lübcke was shot dead by a neo-Nazi while smoking a cigarette on the terrace of his house. His attacker is now serving a life sentence.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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