- Reaction score
- 1,694
A leading candidate in Cologne's mayoral race has been stabbed in the neck by a man claiming to be angry over the country's refugee policies.
Henriette Reker - an independent candidate supported by Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party - was seriously injured along with an aide. Three others suffered minor injuries.
Local police said Ms Reker, 58, was "stable, but not out of the woods".
Police have arrested a 44-year-old German national and Cologne resident.
The attacker told police he stabbed Ms Reker "because of anti-foreigner motives," senior police investigator Norbert Wagner said.
The suspect appeared to have acted alone and had no police record, Mr Wagner added.
Ralf Jager, a regional interior minister, said: "The first signs speak for a politically motivated act."
The attacker will undergo a psychiatric examination to establish whether that was his primary motive or whether he had a health problem.
Henriette Reker - an independent candidate supported by Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party - was seriously injured along with an aide. Three others suffered minor injuries.
Local police said Ms Reker, 58, was "stable, but not out of the woods".
Police have arrested a 44-year-old German national and Cologne resident.
The attacker told police he stabbed Ms Reker "because of anti-foreigner motives," senior police investigator Norbert Wagner said.
The suspect appeared to have acted alone and had no police record, Mr Wagner added.
Ralf Jager, a regional interior minister, said: "The first signs speak for a politically motivated act."
The attacker will undergo a psychiatric examination to establish whether that was his primary motive or whether he had a health problem.
German mayoral candidate Reker stabbed over refugee support
A leading candidate in Cologne's mayoral race is stabbed in the neck by a man claiming to be angry over the country's refugee policies.
www.bbc.com
Last edited by a moderator: