A knife-wielding attacker in the German city of Mannheim injured six people on Friday when he targeted a gathering by the anti-Islam right-wing group Pax Europa.
Police shot the so far unidentified attacker, with security sources telling dpa he suffered life-threatening injuries. Anti-terror investigators have taken over the case.
Five Pax Europa members were hurt and a policeman also suffered severe injuries when the attacker stabbed him in the back of the head several times, authorities said. All of the injured were taken to hospital and some had to undergo emergency surgery.
Pax Europa board member Michael Stürzenberger was among those hurt in the attack, according to the group's treasurer, Stefanie Kizina.
"He was hit in the leg and face and is undergoing emergency surgery. There is apparently no danger to life," Kizina told Bild newspaper.
A video apparently of the attack in the south-western city's main market square circulated online, showing a man stabbing several people at the Pax Europa event. He can also be seen stabbing the policeman.
People can be heard shouting "get the knife away" in the video.
The video also shows another officer shooting at the attacker. Several police officers then restrain him on the ground.
The square was later cordoned off with red and white police tape, screens had been erected and a nearby tram station was closed as investigators combed the area searching for evidence.
A rescue helicopter was even deployed to treat the injured and take them to hospital.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser suggested that religious and political extremism might have motivated the attacker.
"If the investigations reveal an Islamist motive, then this would once again confirm the great danger posed by Islamist acts of violence, which we have warned about," Faeser said.
Mannheim's mayor, Christian Specht, went further by calling it a "terrorist" attack.
"On behalf of the city of Mannheim and Mannheim society, I condemn this vile, brutal terrorist attack during an event critical of Islam in the strongest possible terms," the centre-right politician said.
But Thomas Strobl, the interior minister for the region of Baden-Württemberg where Mannheim is situated, said it was too early to speculate on the motive.
Germany has seen sporadic acts of Islamist violence in recent years.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his shock at the incident.
"The images from Mannheim are terrible. Several people have been seriously injured by an attacker," Scholz wrote in on X.
"My thoughts are with the victims. Violence is absolutely unacceptable in our democracy. The perpetrator must be severely punished."
A spokeswoman for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appeared to back Pax Europa for holding an event criticizing Islam.
"There must be no place for violence in our democracy - violence destroys democracy. Freedom of expression is a valuable asset," Cerstin Gammelin wrote on X.