A newly elected German mayor is fighting for her life today after a stabbing attack at her home – with police taking her teenage adopted son away for questioning.
The attack on Iris Stalzer, 57, mayor-elect of Herdecke near the western city of Dortmund, took place at around noon, said public broadcaster WDR.
The politician sustained as many as 13 stab wounds, according to Westfalenpost.
She was discovered inside her apartment by her 15-year-old adopted son, according to German outlet Bild, with life-threatening injuries and several stabbing wounds on her stomach and back.
Police have reportedly arrested the boy, who told officers that his mother was attacked outside their home by ‘several men on the street’, the outlet said.
It added that he was taken away from the scene in handcuffs for questioning, wearing an evidence-preserving overall.
The teenager reportedly called 911 alongside his 17-year-old adopted sister, who was also present in the apartment when authorities arrived, the newspaper said.
Stalzer is receiving emergency treatment in hospital and is said to be in critical condition.
She was due to take office after being elected as the mayor of Herdecke, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, only a week ago.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the attack as a ‘heinous act’ and demanded that the crime and its background ‘be swiftly clarified’.
Local police have issued a major alert and a manhunt is reportedly ongoing for the suspects, according to Bild.
A rescue helicopter was photographed at the scene in Herdecke, accompanied by emergency services. Police searching for evidence have sealed off the road around her house.
A homicide squad is expected to take over the investigation into the attack shortly.
The police are urgently appealing to the public for information.
It has not yet been determined whether there was a political motive behind the incident.
‘The motive for the crime is completely unclear; we are investigating all avenues,’ said police spokesperson Tino Schäfer.
The motive is unclear but the case raises memories of the 2019 murder of conservative local government president Walter Luebcke, a supporter of then Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy, who was shot dead by a far-right activist as he smoked a late-night cigarette on his terrace at home.
Stalzer, of Germany’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), the junior party in the country’s conservative-led national government, was elected on September 28 as mayor of Herdecke.
After securing just over 52.2 percent of the vote, she celebrated her success in a post on Instagram, writing: ‘Above all, I would like to thank the citizens of Herdecke for this fantastic result and the trust you have placed in me as the new mayor.
‘I will begin my term in November – full of joy, enthusiasm, and respect for this task. Together with you, I want to shape, develop, and keep our city vibrant.’
The comments to the post are now filled with ‘get well soon’ messages in the wake of the news of the attack.
‘Disgusting act. A speedy recovery,’ one person wrote.
‘I pray for your health,’ another added.
The mayor is married with two teenage children and has lived in Herdecke for almost the entirety of her life.
She is a lawyer and a specialist in employment legislation, and had already served on Herdecke’s city council prior to the local election.
Merz wrote on social media that ‘we fear for the life of mayor-elect Iris Stalzer and hope for her full recovery’.
‘My thoughts are with her family and her relatives,’ he added.
Police said only that there was a large operation under way in Herdecke.
The leader of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group in Berlin, Matthias Miersch, told reporters that ‘we heard a few minutes ago that newly elected mayor Iris Stalzer was stabbed in Herdecke’.
He said that ‘we hope that she survives this terrible act’.
‘We can’t say anything at the moment about the background,’ he added.
Stalzer, who beat a candidate from Merz’s centre-right Christian Democrats in a runoff vote to win election, is due to take office on November 1.
Herdecke is a town of about 23,000 people in western Germany’s Ruhr region, between the cities of Hagen and Dortmund.
The Herdecke city administration issued a statement following the attack.
‘The media reports about the police operation at Iris Stalzer’s home have caused shock and dismay among the city administration.
‘I sincerely wish Ms. Stalzer a speedy recovery. My thoughts are with her and her family,’ said First Deputy Mayor Dennis Osberg.
‘The city administration cannot provide any information on Iris Stalzer’s condition.’
Fabian Haas, the politician’s opponent in the runoff election, expressed his condolences following the attack ‘on our elected mayor, Iris Stalzer’.
He wished for her recovery, saying: ‘My thoughts are with her and her family.’
The attack comes after a region-wide campaign that politicians in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s largest state, said was distinguished by the viciousness and rawness of its tone.
A recent study found 60 percent of politicians in Germany had experienced violence at least once, with one in five saying it had made them more reluctant to appear in public.
In 2015, Henriette Reker was stabbed by a right-wing extremist the day before she was elected mayor of Cologne. She made a full recovery and is due to leave office later this year.
She was stabbed in the neck while campaigning at a street market by a 44-year-old man wielding two knives, who was motivated to attack her because of his opposition to mass immigration.
Four other people were also injured in the attack as they attempted to try to save her.
Frank S. was convicted of attempted murder in 2016 and was sentenced to 14 years.
He told the High Court in Duesseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that he stabbed her in the neck with a hunting knife because she ‘welcomed’ refugees, and claimed he only meant to wound her, not kill her.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
