German authorities see Islamic extremist motive in Mannheim knife attack

German authorities say they have uncovered evidence of an Islamic extremist motive in last week’s knife attack in the southwestern city of Mannheim in which a police officer was fatally injured.

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann writes on the social media platform X that “there are now clear indications of an Islamist motive” for the attack and federal prosecutors, who are responsible for terrorism and national security cases, are taking over the investigation.

The federal prosecutor’s office confirms that it has taken on the investigation, citing the significance of the case and the suspicion that it was religiously motivated.

Investigators have said the suspected assailant, a 25-year-old man from Afghanistan who has lived in Germany since 2014 and reportedly had his asylum application rejected, stabbed several members of a group that describes itself as opposing “political Islam.”