Politician's life is in danger SPD mayor stabbed in front of her house - family motive assumed
Just a few days after her election victory, the mayor of Herdecke (North Rhine-Westphalia) is found with serious stab wounds. The police are investigating - the exact background is still unclear. A family motive is suspected.
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- The newly elected mayor of Herdecke, Iris Stalzer (SPD), was apparently seriously injured by several stab wounds.
- According to media reports, her son found her injured in her apartment.
- The police are investigating and searching for the perpetrators; a political motive is not yet assumed.
In the German town of Herdecke in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the mayor Iris Stalzer (SPD) has apparently been stabbed to death. The 57-year-old is said to be in mortal danger, according to several German media outlets. Bild" was the first to report.
According to the newspaper, the newly elected mayor was found seriously injured by her son in her apartment on Tuesday. She is said to have been stabbed several times in the stomach and back. Stalzer reportedly told her son that she had been attacked by several men on the street.
A major police operation is currently underway in the town in western Germany, said a police spokesman in Hagen, without giving further details. According to the German Press Agency, investigators are assuming a family background. "According to the current state of knowledge, there are no indications of a politically motivated crime," the police and public prosecutor's office said.
A reporter from "WDR" reported from the scene that a youth had been led out of the house in handcuffs by the police and taken away. It is unclear what relationship he has to the victim. According to "Bild", however, it is the adopted son of Stalzer.
Chancellor Merz expresses his condolences
The 57-year-old SPD politician was elected mayor of the town of 22,500 inhabitants in the Ruhr region with 52.2 percent of the vote in the run-off election just under a week and a half ago. According to her website, the lawyer is married and the mother of two teenage children.
The German Chancellor has commented on the incident on Platform X. He writes of a "heinous act" that "must be cleared up quickly".
"We fear for the life of Mayor-elect Iris Stalzer and hope for her full recovery. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones," Merz continued.
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."