Pictured: Asylum seeker ‘who stabbed toddler and man to death’ – as it’s revealed he was regularly reported to German police for ‘mental problems’ and violent knife crime

The Afghan asylum seeker who stabbed a two-year-old boy and a passerby to death in a German park has been pictured for the first time since the attack.

Enamullah O., 28, was arrested near the scene after attacking a group of children in a park in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. Two people were killed and three injured, police said.

The adult victim, a 41-year-old German, died while intervening to try to shield the children in Schoental Park from the kitchen knife-wielding attacker.

Regional interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the suspect had already come to the attention of authorities for violent behaviour on three separate occasions and was referred for psychiatric treatment.

Investigations were ongoing into the motive behind the attack, although initial information pointed ‘very strongly in the direction of his obvious mental illness’.

A neighbour who knew the attacker told Bild that Enamullah O. had already been referred to the police for attacking a friend with a knife.

‘He repeatedly cut the skin of a compatriot of mine,’ Mane, who only gave their first name, claimed. ‘She screamed for help. I alerted the police. But shortly afterwards, Enamullah O. moved back into his room.’

‘He had a funny look in his eyes,’ the 23-year-old recalled. ‘He had mental problems and took drugs.’

The suspect had entered Germany in 2022 and unsuccessfully sought asylum. He was meant to have left late last year after offering to leave the country voluntarily, Herrmann said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday he would demand to know why the Afghan suspect had been able to stay in the country. 

‘The authorities must explain as quickly as possible why the attacker was even still in Germany,’ Scholz said in a statement reacting to the devastating attack. 

The latest in a series of deadly knife attacks in Germany threatened to ignite a new debate over immigration ahead of a general election on February 23.

Enamullah O., the suspect in the horrific stabbings in Germany, has been pictured

German police secures a park, where earlier today two people were killed in a knife attack, one of them a child, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, January 22

Enamullah O., 28, was arrested near the scene after attacking a group of children in a park in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria (pictured January 22)

Enamullah O. had announced in December 2024 that he would voluntarily leave the country after not being granted asylum, Bild reports. 

‘As a result, on December 11, the [ministry for immigration and asylum] finally closed the asylum procedure and asked the person concerned to leave the country,’ Herrmann told a press conference.

Investigators say he had already shown psychological problems in the past and had been ‘noticed for violent crimes at least three times in the past’, Herrmann said.

A search of the suspect’s accommodation at an asylum centre had not produced ‘any evidence of a radical Islamist attitude’, with investigators instead finding psychiatric medication. 

A fellow Afghan refugee who shared a hallway with him told Bild: ‘I couldn’t sleep because of him.’

‘He was always making noise, drinking and listening to loud music.’

Ahmad M., a 28-year-old engineer, said he spoke to Enamullah O. but never understood full sentences from him.

‘As an Afghan, I am so sorry about this. My condolences go out to the families affected. But how could the police fail so badly? They all knew that he was not right in the head.’

The suspect had allegedly been following a day care group of five young children before launching the attack, according to Main-Echo.

As well as the heroic 41-year-old passerby, a two-year-old child of ‘Moroccan origin’ was also killed, Herrmann told reporters.

Investigators believe the passerbyn had ‘courageously intervened to protect the other children… and was then fatally injured by the attacker’, Herrmann said. 

Bavarian officials said two adults and a 2-year-old Syrian girl were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, and none of their lives were in danger.

Other passers-by chased the suspect and he was arrested 12 minutes after the attack, Herrmann said. 

Candles and flowers are placed in a park, where earlier today two people were killed in a knife attack, one of them a child, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, January 22, 2025

Rescue and security worker are seen near the crime scene in Aschaffenburg, Germany

An eyewitness told the Main-Echo newspaper that the arrested man was taken away ‘in a headlock’

People light candles during a protest after earlier today two people, one a child, were killed in a knife attack, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, January 22, 2025

An eyewitness told the Main-Echo newspaper that the arrested man was taken away ‘in a headlock.’ 

Cops confirmed that two people had died while three others were injured in the attack, and are now being treated in hospital.

The knifeman also stabbed a two-year-old Syrian girl in the neck three times and stabbed another passerby aged 61 in the chest several times. 

A teacher also broke her arm while fleeing, according to Bild.

‘Two people were fatally injured,’ police said, while ‘two seriously injured people are receiving treatment in hospital. The suspect was arrested in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene.’

A second person arrested was a witness and was being questioned, police said, adding that there were no indications of other suspects as well as no further danger to the public. 

Police also said investigations into the ‘background of the crime’ were ongoing.

Police and ambulances were pictured near the scene in Schoental Park, Aschaffenburg

Enamullah O. came to Germany in November 2022, but was not granted asylum and announced last month that he would voluntary leave the country, tabloid Bild reports. ‘As a result, on December 11, the [ministry for immigration and asylum] finally closed the asylum procedure and asked the person concerned to leave the country,’ Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told a press conference

Main-Echo reported that teachers from an Aschaffenburg daycare center were out on a local trip to Schoental with five small children. 

‘The attacker is said to have followed this group. The teachers noticed this and they wanted to leave Schoental,’ the news site said.

‘When they wanted to leave, the man is said to have attacked the group with a knife. He was apparently specifically targeting the children. 

‘One teacher suffered injuries and is now in hospital, another is receiving psychological care. The other children have now been picked up by their parents and are receiving psychological care’. 

In a press release following the incident, Lower Franconia Police confirmed: ‘The Aschaffenburg police, with the support of surrounding departments, launched a large-scale search for the suspect immediately after the incident became known. 

‘The suspected weapon used in the crime, a knife, was confiscated,’ police said.

The motive for the attack remains unclear and police have asked that people refrain from speculation. 

A large area was cordoned off covering Schoental Park, police said, and rail traffic in the area was temporarily suspended. 

German police secures a park, where earlier today two people were killed in a knife attack, one of them a child, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, January 22, 2025

German police secures a park, where earlier today two people were killed in a knife attack, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, 22 January 2025

German police secures a park, where on Wednesday two people were killed in a knife attack

Train services in the town were temporarily interrupted as the suspect tried to flee along the tracks, German news agency dpa reported. However, he was quickly detained, police wrote on the social media platform X. 

They also declined to give details about how the attack took place.

The governor of Bavaria condemned the attack and called it ‘a terrible day for all of Bavaria’.

‘We mourn the victims of a cowardly and despicable act. We mourn the loss of a small, innocent child who was fatally injured,’ Markus Söder wrote on X. 

‘We mourn the loss of a helper who paid for his civil courage with his own life.’

‘The circumstances of this inconceivable act must be fully clarified,’ he added. ‘But now is the time to pause for thought. It simply hurts. We pray for the victims and their families. We hope that all those injured recover quickly and fully.’

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expressed her compassion for the families of the victims and vowed that ‘the investigation will shed light on the background to this terrible act of violence’.

‘My thoughts and heartfelt sympathy are with the parents of the child who was killed, for whom there could be no more terrible news,’ she said. ‘My deepest sympathy also goes to the family of the man who lost his life as a result of this brutal act.’

Rescue vehicles are seen near the crime scene in Aschaffenburg

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann arrives near the park for a press conference this afternoon

People light candles during a protest after earlier today two people, one a child, were killed in a knife attack, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, January 22, 2025

The suspect is believed to have tried to escape by running across nearby railway tracks, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. 

In November, police classified parts of the city centre park as a ‘dangerous place’ due to an increase in ‘drug-related crimes’, which reportedly included robbery and assault.

There were reported to be regular patrols of the area, which is potentially why the suspect was apprehended so quickly.

Police have asked for witnesses to come forward and share any relevant pictures or videos as the investigation into the attack continues.