German park stabbing: Toddler and man killed, Afghan man arrested

Markus Söder said it was a terrible day and called for a pause: “We are saddened by the loss of an innocent little boy.”

Police said they are investigating the motive and background of the attack which remains unclear. The suspect is said to be staying in accommodation for asylum seekers.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is visiting France, condemned the “unbelievable act of terror”. He posted on social media that he was tired of seeing “such acts of violence every few weeks” and urged the authorities to find out whether the suspect was still in Germany.

The German government has been under increasing pressure to take a harder line on immigration after a series of fatal attacks, and with federal elections on February 23, the anti-immigration, far-right AfD is second in the polls.

Five people were killed when a man drove his car into a crowd at Magdeburg’s Christmas market in December. A Saudi doctor was accused of the attack.

In August, three people were stabbed to death in the town of Solingen. The suspect is a Syrian national facing deportation after a failed asylum claim.

The attack prompted the German government to expand border checks and tighten knife controls, and fueled a fierce debate over asylum rules that continues until next month’s election.

The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is currently leading the polls and Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) is in third place.

The election was called after Scholz’s three-party coalition collapsed in November.