Iris Stalzer, the newly elected mayor of a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, was found with multiple stab wounds and is in critical condition, authorities said on Tuesday. Police said no arrests have been made so far.   

Stalzer, 57, a Social Democrat and labor lawyer, won last month’s runoff election with 52.2% of the vote to become mayor of Herdecke. She was found in her apartment with life-threatening injuries. The incident comes amid a sharp rise in knife-related violence across the region.

Stalzer was found by her adopted 15-year-old son, who told police she had been attacked by several men outside her home before she dragged herself back into the apartment, according to Bild. Her 17-year-old adopted daughter was reportedly also in the apartment during the attack.

The outlet went on to report that the boy was taken from the scene in handcuffs and wearing an evidence-preserving overall. Investigators said this was to prevent evidence from being covered up.

“We fear for the life of the mayor-designate and hope for her full recovery,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on social media. He condemned the stabbing as “a terrible deed,” and insisted it be “swiftly investigated.”

Investigators have not publicly identified any suspects or motive. Police have only said that a major deployment is in progress in Herdecke and that further details will follow. 

However, Der Spiegel has reported that there had allegedly been a case of domestic violence in the politician’s home earlier this year, when the adopted daughter supposedly used a knife against Stalzer.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, where Herdecke is located, police statistics have shown a sharp rise in knife-related violence. According to state data, overall knife offenses have increased by more than 50 percent since 2020, while public-space knife attacks have more than doubled over the past five years. Similar trends have been recorded across Germany, with police reporting steady nationwide increases in knife assaults and threats since 2022.

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