A German mayor stabbed in the neck says the attack was premeditated, claiming that his attacker was angered by his pro-refugee stance.
"Yes, the knife was meant for me," said Andreas Hollstein, the mayor of Altena and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), during a press conference just hours after his release from hospital.
Hollstein recalled entering a kebab shop on Monday night to buy dinner for his sick wife when a man approached him and asked whether he was the mayor.
He quoted his attacker as saying, "You are letting me die of thirst while bringing 200 refugees to Altena," as the man pulled a 30cm-long knife from his pocket and stabbed him in the neck.
Under Hollstein, Altena - a town of 17,000 people - took in more refugees than required under a national quota.
The attacker, whom officials describe as "a 56-year-old man suspected of having a xenophobic motive," was wrestled to the ground by the injured mayor and two of the kebab shop owners and held down until police arrived to arrest him.
Hollstein said he could smell alcohol on the man's breath, but that he was still in command of his full physical strength, adding that he had demanded to be shot dead by police when officers arrived at the scene.
The mayor received medical treatment for his 15cm stab wound and was subsequently released from hospital.
Merkel joined politicians in expressing their shock at the attack.
"I am appalled by the knife attack against Mayor Andreas Hollstein - and very relieved that he is able to be with his family again," Merkel was quoted on Twitter. "Thank you also to those who helped him."
