Germany Knife attack on German mayor
The newly elected mayor of the German town of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer, has been critically injured by several stab wounds. The 57-year-old was found at her home address and flown to a hospital by rescue helicopter, said a police spokesperson in Hagen. She is receiving intensive medical care. A homicide squad has started the investigation.
07.10.2025, 14:21
07.10.2025, 16:23
SDA
The SPD politician had been stabbed several times, according to security sources. Her life is in acute danger. Her children, aged 15 and 17, had called the emergency services at around 12.40 p.m. and reported that they had found their mother seriously injured in the house. According to the children, she had probably been attacked and had been stabbed several times in the upper body. She is said to have been responsive at first.
Stalzer was elected mayor of the town of 22,500 inhabitants in the Ruhr region in the run-off election just under a week and a half ago. She received 52.2 percent of the vote.
Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his deep shock at the knife attack. "We have received news of a heinous act from Herdecke. It must now be cleared up quickly. We fear for the life of mayor-designate Iris Stalzer and hope she makes a full recovery," Merz wrote on Platform X. "My thoughts are with her family and loved ones."
SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf also expressed his dismay. "We are deeply saddened by the news from Herdecke," said Klüssendorf in Berlin. "We fear for our comrade and mayor and our thoughts are with her relatives." The General Secretary of the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia, Frederick Cordes, wrote: "Our thoughts are with Iris Stalzer and her family. Our thanks go to all the rescue and emergency services who were and are on duty."
