On 31 May 2024 at 11.30 am, a man armed with a knife ambushed and wounded several people at a rally held in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

This rally in particular was hosted by the far-right anti-Muslim group Citizens' Movement Pax Europa (BPE). Six people were injured, including notable activist Michael Stürzenberger and a police officer, who succumbed to his injuries two days after the incident. The alleged attacker was ultimately injuriously shot by another police officer. The motive for the attack has not been fully confirmed yet, although investigators suspect Islamism.

Stabbing

Citizens' Movement Pax Europa, known by its German language acronym BPE, set up a small rally with an information stand in Mannheim's market square. Michael Stürzenberger, a German anti-Muslim activist, was supposed to give a speech. At previous rallies, he had called for "re-education camps" for Muslims modeled on Xinjiang internment camps, and compared the Muslim holy book to Mein Kampf, calling it "the most dangerous book in the world".

The stabbing started at 11:30 am, while Stürzenberger happened to be livestreaming. Footage from the event showed the suspect ambushing people with a knife. A number of bystanders grappled with the suspect, but he managed to break free. The livestream showed that a police officer tried to quickly intervene, and tackled and restrained a bystander trying to subdue the suspect. The suspect then stabbed the police officer in the neck before getting injuriously shot by another police officer. Stürzenberger was stabbed in the face and one of his legs. Rescue and emergency services, including a MEDIVAC helicopter, were deployed to the scene. The injured police officer, 29-year-old Rouven L., was placed in an induced coma. He underwent emergency surgery, but succumbed to his injuries two days after the stabbing.

Suspect

A possible suspect in the stabbing was later identified as a 25-year-old Afghan refugee named Sulaiman Ataee. Sulaiman was a former Herat resident, and moved to Germany in 2013–14. He lived in Heppenheim at the time of the attack, around 30 km from Mannheim. He reportedly had a valid residence permit, was married, and had two children. German authorities had not flagged him as an extremist prior to the attack. According to Der Spiegel, investigators believe that he had Islamist motives, although such claims have not been fully confirmed yet. The Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation announced that he was given an arrest warrant for attempted murder, and his apartment was searched.

Aftermath

According to Der Spiegel, the authorities assume a total of seven people were injured. These include two policemen, one of which was initially left in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery. Stürzenberger underwent emergency surgery for non-life-threatening injuries. On 1 June 2024, Stürzenberger posted on his Telegram page that the chest stab wound narrowly missed his lungs while the thigh stab wound caused significant blood loss due to striking veins.

Two days after the attack, a public statement released by the Mannheim Police Department and State Criminal Police Office of Baden-Württemberg mourned the death of the police officer who gave his life trying to control the situation and stop the violence.

A public vigil was set up in the market square where the stabbing took place. At the same time, Young Alternative members set up an anti-immigration protest at the market square, which was met by counter-protesters that included members of Antifa organizations.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that it's up to the investigation to determine a motive. She said that "if the investigation shows an Islamist motive, that would be another confirmation of the great danger from Islamist acts of violence that we have warned of." German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X (Twitter) that the footage was "terrible", that such acts of violence were "absolutely unacceptable", and that "[t]he perpetrator must be severely punished". He later stated that action was needed against extremist political violence from those who tried to restrict the democratic space for discussion, regardless of their political or religious orientation.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul stated that stronger measures for controlling the possession and violent use of knives with greater focus on security policy, stronger punishments, and education about their dangers were required.

Green Party politician Konstantin von Notz and FDP vice-chairman Konstantin Kuhle both condemned anyone who glorified the act of violence, with the latter stating that anyone who publicly celebrated the stabbing should face immediate and severe criminal proceedings, and that Muslim associations needed to make clear statements denouncing the use and glorification of violence to prevent future attacks.