There has been a shocking rise in knife crime in one German state and, as it turns out, nearly half of the perpetrators did not have a German passport.

In the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of knife crimes has increased by almost 50 percent. Young men are over-represented among both suspected perpetrators and victims, the Catholic Kath.net news portal reports.

According to police crime statistics, in 2022, there were 4,191 crimes involving knives; in 2023, the figure was 6,221.

One in three suspects was under 21 years of age, almost 87 percent were male, and almost half of the suspects (47.4 percent) did not have a German passport.

Young men were also overrepresented among the victims. One third of the 8 036 registered victims were under 21 years old and more than three quarters (76.5 percent) were male. 38.3 percent did not have a German passport.

In 2023, 198 people died in stabbing attacks in North Rhine-Westphalia. Authorities classified 156 attacks as attempted homicides, and 2,450 incidents as assaults.

Incidentally, the crime statistics summarise these crimes as „knife crimes with a victim”, but include crime categories such as murder, manslaughter, assault, threatening and resisting, so basically any type of violent incidents involving a knife.

In Mannheim, Germany, a candidate for the right-wing Alternative for Germany was recently stabbed to death.

🔵🚨 EIL: Video der Messerattacke auf AfD-Politiker in Mannheim 🚨🔵#Mannheim #Mannheimistüberall pic.twitter.com/IViuYKqvZY

— AfD News (@AfDNews_) June 5, 2024