A man and a child have died after a stabbing in the German town of Aschaffenburg, Bavaria earlier today.
A 41-year-old man and a 2-year-old boy lost their lives in the attack
Two others were seriously injured in the attack and were rushed to hospital.
A 28-year-old man who police say is from Afghanistan was arrested in the aftermath of the incident which took place in Schoental Park.
Local police say that they are currently not looking for anyone else in relation to the attack and that they believe there is no ongoing threat to the public.
They also indicated that the attack is not believed to be terror related.
Train services in the area were temporarily suspended as the suspect tried to flee along the tracks, German news agency dpa reported, however he was quickly detained according to police.
Police asked possible witnesses to come forward. They have yet to release further details about the identities of the victims or the suspect.
This is the latest in a series of recent deadly knife attacks in the country which have raised concerns over security and added to public unrest with regard to Germany’s migration policies ahead of parliamentary elections on February 23.
Last December, a Saudi Arabian man was arrested after he allegedly attacked a Christmas market by ramming a car into people in the city of Magdeburg.
Six people were killed and around 200 injured.
In August a 26-year-old Syrian was charged with three counts of murder, and attempted murder and eight counts of dangerous bodily harm after a deadly rampage at a festival in Solingen.
At the time prosecutors said that “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, specifically a ‘gathering of Christians’, according to a statement by terror group, Isis. The suspect is also accused of being “a member of a terrorist organisation abroad”, saying he shares the “ideology of Islamic State” (IS).
The attack occurred at a ‘Festival of Diversity’ to celebrate Solingen’s 650th anniversary. A woman, aged 56, and two men, aged 56 and 67, were killed and eight others were injured, with four left fighting for their lives in hospital, police said.In June a police officer died after responding to a stabbing incident in Mannheim.
25-year Afghan Sulaiman Ataee was shot by police after he allegedly went on a stabbing rampage at an event where Michael Stürzenberger, an outspoken activist and critic of Islam, was present.
The shocking attack was captured on video as it took place in the middle of a livestream during preparations for a rally by Pax Europa.
The video shows the man lunging at numerous people with a large knife in his hand with Stürzenberger sustaining what appears to be multiple stab wounds.
After the attacks last year German authorities came under pressure and announced a tightening of border controls.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said at the time that the Bundestag would be “taking a hard line” against irregular migration, and that she believes the checks will reduce Islamist extremism and cross-border crime.
“We are doing everything in our power to protect the people of our country against these threats,” she added.
Germany took in over one million people from Middle Eastern countries like Syria during the 2015-2016 migrant crisis.
The country has been experiencing rising levels of crime over the subsequent years with the Berlin police chief saying that the demographic of those committing most of the knife crime in the city was ‘young, male, and migrant’.
As Gript previously reported, Barbara Slowik said, “The police crime statistics make a distinction between German and non-German suspects. And in recent years we have seen an increase in violent crime overall, as well as in non-German criminals in the capital. Non-Germans are overrepresented. To put it bluntly: According to our figures, the violence in Berlin is young, male and has a non-German background. This also applies to knife violence.”