German mayor Iris Stalzer is fighting for his life after a stabbing attack

The recently elected mayor of a town in West Germany was in critical condition Tuesday after being found in her home with multiple stab wounds to her neck and stomach.

Iris Stalzer, 57, a center-left social democrat who got her mayor elected late last month, was dragged home after being attacked by several men, according to her 15-year-old son, citing German newspaper outlet Bild, Reuters reported.

But according to investigators, “close family involvement cannot be ruled out at present,” and Stalzer’s son and 17-year-old daughter were also brought in for questioning.

It is unclear who called police and how quickly emergency responders arrived at the scene, although police officers filed out of the street outside her home and launched an immediate investigation.

The mayor of Herdecke – a town of about 20,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia’s largest state on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands – was standing out on a helicopter to a nearby hospital.

The attack on Stalzer comes after an unusually contentious election that, according to reports, ousted a conservative mayor.

Although authorities have not indicated any motive behind the attack, Stalzer is the latest politician to experience violence amid a disturbing trend in Germany.

Several German officials have been attacked in the past year during campaign events, and according to Reuters, about 60% of German politicians have reported violence at least once—prompting growing concern among officials about being in public.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz responded to news of the attack in a post on X, calling it a “hateful act.”

“We are concerned about the life of Mayor-designate Iris Stalzer and hope for her full recovery. My thoughts are with her family and his relatives,” he said after calling for the investigation.

Police officials from North Rhine-Westphalia could not be reached for comment for this report.