Another stabbing has been reported just ten days after a policeman died and four others were injured following a knife attack in the German city of Mannheim.

The new attack took place in Germany's financial capital Frankfurt on Monday (June 10). According to reports in German-speaking media, including in the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), the suspected attacker is a 19-year-old Afghan asylum seeker.

The victim is a woman in her forties, possibly from Ukraine, according to the German state broadcaster ARD’s news program Tagesschau. The victim and alleged attacker reportedly did not know one another.

According to police statements, the crime took place on Monday afternoon. The victim was reportedly sitting on a bench in a park along the river Main when the suspected attacker came from behind, grabbed her shoulder and used a knife to stab her head and neck repeatedly.

Repeated stabbings

The woman initially managed to free herself from the attacker and staggered some meters away, before falling down. The suspected attacker then reportedly attempted to continue the attack, but the woman’s screams attracted eyewitnesses who ran to help her.

At this point, the suspected attacker is reported to have fled. He was later found in a bush not far from the attack. The police deployed helicopters to locate him, Tagesschau reports.

On Tuesday, the state prosecutor in Frankfurt am Main charged the man with attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

The victim, who was taken to the hospital, is "seriously" injured "but not in danger of losing her life."

Investigators have not released information about the attacker's motive. The accused 19-year-old was not known to the police before Monday's events, according to Tagesschau.

A spokesperson for the state prosecutor told Tagesschau that those who arrived first on the scene probably saved the woman’s life, and praised them for their "civil courage."

Attack has sparked more debate about migration policy

This latest attack has already begun to spark debate in Germany.

Jens Spahn, deputy chair of the opposition conservative CDU party, told the NZZ : "The patterns are unfortunately repeating themselves. Once again, we have someone who should never have been let into this country, or should not have been allowed to stay, carrying out a serious and violent crime. Irregular migration from violent countries has just made our country more violent."

One of the chairs of the Green party, Omid Nouripour, who grew up in Frankfurt, called the crime "despicable" on his X page.

He said he wished the victim a quick recovery and thanked the witnesses and those who had offered emergency medical help at the scene. Nouripour added that the attacker "must be made to answer for his crimes."

Spahn and fellow members of the CDU have called on the government to remove any barriers that still exist when it comes to deporting violent criminals.

The Taliban suggested willingness last week to talk with the German government about such deportations.

Some organizations, like the pro-migrant group Pro Asyl, however, say those convicted of crimes should be forced to serve their sentences in Germany.

The NZZ also reported that a 22-year-old Afghan allegedly attacked police officers with a "long knife" on the Baltic sea island of Rügen shortly after the Mannheim attack. Before he turned on the officers, he is reported to have attacked voting posters from the anti-migrant AFD party.