German mayor seriously stabbed, but police see no political motivation
Iris Stalzer, who won the local elections in Herdecke ten days ago, was attacked in front of her home.
BarcelonaIris Stalzer, who was elected mayor of Herdecke in western Germany ten days ago, was severely stabbed outside her home on Tuesday, and her life is in danger. According to several local media outlets, the Social Democrat politician was stabbed several times and, before losing consciousness, told her son that she had been attacked by several men on the street.
Several media outlets have reported that her two adopted children, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, notified the police around 12:40 p.m. According to the newspaper Picture and WDR, officers have detained the two young men, who are "still clarifying the facts," according to the police. According to WDR, police operations had previously taken place at Stalzer's home, and the crime is suspected to be linked to family conflicts, with no evidence of political motivation.
Stalzer, 57, won the local elections on September 28 and was due to take office in November. Investigators have not yet provided any information on possible motives for the crime, and it is not known whether the attack had a political background. Herdecke is a town of around 20,000 people in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which held municipal elections on September 14 and 28.
The Social Democrat candidate won the runoff, in which she faced a CDU candidate with the support of the Greens. In doing so, she snatched the mayor's office from the conservatives. Stalzer, who also works as a lawyer, has been a member of the Herdecke City Council for years, not only for the SPD, but also for the Greens.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the conservative, called the incident a "heinous crime." "It must be resolved quickly," he said, adding that he hoped for Stalzer's full recovery.