- By Shivangi Sharma
- Tue, 07 Oct 2025 09:24 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A newly-elected mayor in western Germany has been found critically injured after being stabbed near her home, prompting a major police investigation and condemnation from national leaders. Iris Stalzer, 57, a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), was elected mayor of Herdecke, a town in North-Rhine Westphalia, on September 28 and was due to take office on November 1. She was discovered with multiple stab wounds by her son in her apartment, local media reported. According to German news outlet Bild, Stalzer told her son that she had been attacked by several men in the street and had managed to drag herself home before collapsing.
Stalzer’s injuries are life-threatening, and authorities are treating the case with the utmost seriousness. Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the attack as a “heinous act,” stating on X, “We fear for the life of the mayor-elect, Iris Stalzer, and hope for a full recovery. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones.”
Uns erreicht eine Nachricht über eine abscheuliche Tat aus Herdecke. Sie muss jetzt schnell aufgeklärt werden. Wir bangen um das Leben der designierten Bürgermeisterin Iris Stalzer und hoffen auf vollständige Genesung. Meine Gedanken sind bei ihrer Familie und ihren Angehörigen.
— Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (@bundeskanzler) October 7, 2025
Police Investigation Underway
A massive police raid has been conducted in Herdecke, a municipality of 23,000 people. Stalzer's 15-year-old son was supposedly taken away handcuffed and in an evidence-preserving suit, which the police said was a precautionary step. Her 17-year-old daughter was also there at the time. Authorities have not yet ascertained a motive, and investigators are supposedly "exploring all possibilities," including a possible family link.
Local authorities accounted for the town government being in "shock and denial" regarding the attack. The motive is not yet certain, but the event has revived memories of the killing of Walter Lübcke, a conservative local politician, by a far-right extremist in 2019.
Who Is Iris Stalzer?
Stalzer herself has lived almost her whole life in Herdecke and is a qualified lawyer dealing with labour law. She is married and has two teenage children and has been a representative from the SPD, Germany's junior party in the conservative-dominated national government, in local politics.
Her election to the mayoralty was a notable local political achievement, and she had only recently been making preparations to take office when the attack took place.
Chancellor Merz and local officials have expressed deep concern for Stalzer’s safety and well-being. “We fear for the life of the mayor-elect and hope for her full recovery,” Merz said.