(Deutsche Welle) Colleagues, family and politicians converged on the city square in Mannheim on Friday to remember the young policeman who sustained deadly injuries one week ago. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid flowers.
A 25-year-old man originally from Afghanistan, who is married to a German woman and has two children, was arrested on suspicion of having stabbed five people at an anti-Islam rally, including the fatal stabbing of the 29-year-old police officer. The suspect was also injured and is now in police custody. He reportedly came to Germany ten years ago as an unaccompanied minor. His asylum application was rejected, but he was permitted to stay in the country under a provision known as “tolerated status” (Duldung). Police are now investigating and a criminal trial is likely to follow.
