---
title: "Two killed in German park in stabbing attack; Afghan suspect arrested"
description: "A 28-year-old man from Afghanistan was arrested following a knife attack on Wednesday in a park in the German city of Aschaffenburg in which two people were killed, including a toddler, police and the state health minister said."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-22-two-killed-in-german-park-in-stabbing-attack-afghan-suspect-arrested/"
published: "2025-01-22T20:54:04"
updated: "2025-01-22T20:54:06"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 250
---

# Two killed in German park in stabbing attack; Afghan suspect arrested

> A 28-year-old man from Afghanistan was arrested following a knife attack on Wednesday in a park in the German city of Aschaffenburg in which two people were killed, including a toddler, police and the state health minister said.

By Reuters · Published 22 January 2025, 22:54 SAST · Updated 22 January 2025, 22:54 SAST

## Key points
- In a shocking episode that has left Bavaria reeling, a kitchen knife-wielding suspect with a history of violent behavior turned a serene park outing into a scene of chaos, fatally injuring a passerby and a toddler, while raising urgent questions about security and migration just months before the parliamentary elections.
- A suspect attacked a kindergarten group in Schoental park, resulting in the deaths of a German man and a two-year-old boy.
- A Syrian girl and three others, including a teacher, were injured in the knife assault.
- The assailant, with a history of violence and undergoing psychiatric treatment, had his asylum process closed but remained in Germany.
- The incident raises security concerns in Germany ahead of the parliamentary elections on February 23, amid a backdrop of recent violent attacks.

## Content

The suspect deliberately attacked a kindergarten group in the park with a kitchen knife, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said.

A 41-year old passerby, a German man, and a two-year old boy of Moroccan descent were fatally injured, while a Syrian two-year old girl was injured, he said.

The suspect was detained at the scene in Schoental park, an English-style garden in the city, where the attack took place on Wednesday morning.

Three other people were also wounded, including a 61-year-old man, a child and a teacher, Bavarian Health Minister Judith Gerlach said.

The suspect, who had a history of violent behaviour, was undergoing psychiatric treatment. He had had his asylum process closed and said he would voluntarily leave Germany in December, but had not left and remained under treatment, Herrmann said.

The stabbings add to a string of violent attacks in Germany that have raised concerns over security and migration ahead of parliamentary elections on Feb. 23.

"An initial search of his accommodation in the asylum shelter did not reveal any signs of radical Islamist tendencies but only medications consistent with his psychiatric treatment," Hermann added.

Police said there was no indication there might be further suspects involved in the incident.

On Dec. 20, six people were killed and around 200 hurt when a Saudi doctor rammed a car into people strolling at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg.

(Reporting by Rachel More and Riham Alkousaa, editing by Thomas Seythal, Editing by Madeline Chambers and Bernadette Baum)