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2025 Aschaffenburg stabbing attack
Mass stabbing in Aschaffenburg, Germany From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On 22 January 2025, a mass stabbing took place at a park in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany. 28-year-old Afghan asylum seeker Enamullah Omarzai, killed two people and wounded three.[3][4]
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Attack
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The perpetrator entered the Schöntal Park at around 11:30 local time. Inside the park, he followed a kindergarten group, consisting of two female teachers and five children, for fifteen minutes.[5] At 11:45, at the Musikerplatz, the perpetrator ran past the teachers to attack two toddlers sat inside a toy wagon, pulling off the hat and scarf of a 2-year-old Moroccan boy before stabbing him and a 2-year-old Syrian girl.[5][6] The boy died after suffering seven stab wounds while the girl survived with critical injuries.[7]
A 59-year-old teacher tried to save the children, but she was pushed by the knifeman, breaking her hand. Two male passersby pulled the perpetrator away from the children, leading to a prolonged struggle during which the teachers and the remaining children escaped the scene. The attacker stabbed both men in the back and flank, killing a 41-year-old man and injuring a 72-year-old man, both of whom were German citizens.[5][8]
Other passersby chased after the attacker as he fled. He was then arrested by police two kilometres from the crime scene, outside a train tunnel of the Main Valley Railway near Wilhelm-Hoegner-Anlage,[9] twelve minutes later.[10][11][12]
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Suspect
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The suspect was identified as Enamullah Omarzai (Pashto: إنعام الله عمرزی), born in 1997 in Kunduz, Afghanistan. He arrived in Bulgaria from Turkey in early 2022, before illegally moving to Germany in November 2022. Four months later he requested the right of asylum.[13] It was however refused in June 2023, with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees ordering a repatriation to Bulgaria.[14]
At the time of the stabbing, Omarzai had 18 criminal proceedings against him.[15] His criminal record in Germany consisted of serious bodily harm, assault, and falsifying a public transport ticket. For his first offence in March 2023, a physical fight at a refugee centre in Schweinfurt, he was sentenced to a fine of €800, which he ultimately did not pay. In Aschaffenburg, Omarzai was twice arrested and committed to a psychiatric institution for incidents of resisting law enforcement, once for beating officers at a precinct while under the influence of cannabis and another time for public nudity at Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof. While at refugee accommodations in Alzenau and Werneck, Omarzai was noted for his violent disposition and arrested three times in January and August 2024 for assaulting other refugees. On 2 December 2024, Omarzai was sentenced to 40 days imprisonment for failing to pay a fine, but did not show up to prison on 23 December. Omarzai had volunteered to return to Afghanistan after his sentence, for which federal authorities had labelled him obligated to leave the country.[16] He was also assigned to mental health counselling,[17][18] which diagnosed him with schizophrenia and prescribed medication.[19][20][21][22]
Authorities stated that the stabbings were not carried out for a political or religious motive. The suspect had been previously recorded for mental illness[23][24][25] and was temporarily detained at a psychiatric center after the killings.[14]
In late February 2025 the prosecutor's office informed about an evaluation, which concluded that the attacker may not be responsible for his action due to a psychiatric disease.[26] Doctors suspected that the defendant may be affected by psychosis or schizophrenia, having previously shown to experience persecutory delusions and possibly hallucinations.[27][28]
On 11 June 2025, the prosecutor's office stated that it had concluded its investigation, and had requested the regional court to permanently commit the suspect to a psychiatric hospital.[29]
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Aftermath
The stabbing, along with the car-ramming attack in Munich the following month, contributed significantly to the renewed discussion about immigration policy, particularly deportation of denied asylum seekers, ahead of Germany's snap election in February.[30][31][32][33]
On 5 April 2025, 30-year-old Somali national Ahmed Mohamed Odowaa, one of the men who had chased down the perpetrator, was slated for deportation to Italy per the Dublin Regulation.[34] This had been planned since October 2024, but due to Odowaa's role as a witness in the murders, the deportation had been delayed.[35] The order caused outrage online, as Odowaa previously had received praise for his actions by Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder. Within the day, a total of 45,000 signatures were gathered to protest the deportation, and on 7 April, Odowaa received an extended toleration status and approval for his requested work permit.[36][37]
See also
References
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