A knife attack that killed two people in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg has left a local community in grief, with the city's mayor warning of a "spiral of violence and hatred." An Afghan suspect is in custody.

The violent attack was carried out at around 11.45am local time in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, German media reports.

Berlin, Germany - January 23, 2025 The chairman of the party and fraction of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, gives a press conference in the German parliament in Berlin, in reaction to the knife attack on January 22 in Aschaffenburg. Camera: CLEMENS BILAN FOOTAGE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARTY AND FRACTION OF THE GERMAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION, FRIEDRICH MERZ. [Restrictions: Spain, Latin America, or the U.S. Hispanic market]

The violent attack left two dead, including a 2 year-old boy, and three injured in the Bavarian city. The suspect is a former Afghan asylum seeker with a history of psychiatric problems and violence who said over a month ago that he would leave Germany voluntarily.

A person has been arrested after the attack in the southern German state of Bavaria. The motives for the stabbing are still unclear, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it "an act of terror."