German police on Friday shot and wounded a knifeman who attacked a right-wing, anti-Islam demonstration in the city of Mannheim, local police shared in a statement.

The attacker, whose name has not been disclosed, is described as a 25-year-old man born in Afghanistan who has lived in Germany since 2014 and resides in Heppenheim, Hesse, a city located approximately 32 kilometers outside Mannheim. 

The attacker was reportedly injured as a result of the shooting and is currently in hospital. Police report that five attendees of the demonstration were also wounded, and a police officer who intervened while the attack was unfolding was stabbed several times in the head from behind. He is reportedly in critical condition. 

The anti-Islam Pax Europa Movement organized the demonstration, with activist Michael Stuerzenberger set to address a small crowd in the square and via livestream. Stuerzenberger was reportedly among those injured, with a colleague of Stuerzenberger telling the local Bild newspaper that the activist had been stabbed in the face and leg.  

Mannheim Police have indicated that there is no longer any imminent danger. However, they have not released any information about the attacker’s identity or motives. 

Government officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, resolutely condemned the attack, and others seized the opportunity to peddle anti-Islam and anti-immigration narratives that have gained traction recently in Europe ahead of the European Parliament election set to take place on June 6. 

“If investigations show an Islamist motive behind the attack, that would be yet another confirmation of the great danger imposed by Islamist violence, which we have been warning about,” Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser shared in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter).