Mayor in western Germany in critical condition after stabbing, says source

The newly elected mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer (SPD), was badly wounded in a stabbing attack on Oct. 7 in the immediate vicinity of her home, public broadcaster WDR reported. (AFP)

• The case raises memories of the 2019 murder of conservative local government president Walter Luebcke

DUESSELDORF: A freshly elected mayor was found injured in western Germany with multiple stab wounds and her life is in danger, a security source told Reuters on Tuesday.
Bild newspaper reported that Iris Stalzer, a Social Democrat who was due to take office after being elected mayor of Herdecke in the Ruhr region a week ago, had been found by her son.
The case raises memories of the 2019 murder of conservative local government president Walter Luebcke, a support 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.
Local and regional authorities were not immediately available to comment.