Agency Report –
Munich – “Today we are full of sorrow,” Aschaffenburg parish priest, Martin Heim, said. “We are hurt by this brutal act.”
The Catholic bishop of Würzburg, Franz Jung, spoke of “pain and mourning over what happened on Wednesday,” while the Protestant bishop of Bavaria, Christian Kopp, spoke of “fear, questions, uncertainty, shock.”
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Bavarian Premier Markus Söder attended the memorial service. Prior to this, they visited the crime scene, laying wreaths in the park where a 2-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man were stabbed to death on Wednesday.
“It is unfathomable that a small child, who was out in the morning on a joyous day with many plans and an entire life ahead, is now dead,” said Söder. “A man who wanted to help, who showed civic courage and stood up, has also died. An unimaginable act in a seemingly peaceful place.”
“We are responding calmly and decisively. Political questions will certainly still be discussed, but today, we empathize, today we mourn,” he said.
The memorial service is set to be paused from 11:45 to 11:50 am (1045-1050 GMT), the time of the attack last Wednesday. During this period, all Aschaffenburg church bells are expected to ring out.
The service was broadcast on a screen on Stiftsplatz, a square in the city centre, and was also available on the YouTube channel of the city of Aschaffenburg and live on Bavarian Broadcasting television.
