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Close to close: Visitors to the Wiesn in Munich
Photo: Christof Stache / AFP
The man who attacked a 21-year-old with a knife at the Munich Oktoberfest is being sought.
The Munich police have published pictures of the suspect and his companions.
The perpetrator stabbed the young man near the Theresienwiese on Friday night.
The Hamburger was seriously injured and had to be operated on.
He is now out of danger.
How the argument came about is still unclear.
The perpetrator and his acquaintances fled.
A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.
The federal police in Munich reported several assault offenses on Sunday that occurred on the way to and from the 187th Oktoberfest.
A 19-year-old Oktoberfest visitor was waiting around 1.30 a.m. on the Hackerbrücke S-Bahn platform for her train when she was thrown from above with a glass bottle and hit in the head.
She suffered a severe laceration that was bleeding profusely.
The woman came to a Munich hospital for care, where the laceration was stitched up and a concussion was diagnosed.
The federal police have started investigations into suspected dangerous bodily harm.
She asked to be extra careful with bottles or glasses in high-traffic places.
Safe space for women at the Oktoberfest
At least 21 visitors to the Oktoberfest experienced sexual or physical violence on the festival grounds in the first week of the Oktoberfest.
This is the result of an interim report published on Monday for the "Safe Wiesn for Girls* and Women*" campaign, which runs the Safe Space help service.
In the first week of the festival in 2019, only 14 women and girls sought support after experiencing violence.
However, those responsible do not see an increase in violence at the Munich festival.
The increased demand is due to the growing awareness of the campaign and to social and political debates on the subject.
The police registered 31 sex offenses, none of them rape.
923 missions have been completed - three years ago there were more than 1000 at the same time, it said.
Commemoration of Oktoberfest attack
Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) recalled the Oktoberfest attack in 1980. He called for the fight against right-wing extremism "with all the forces at our disposal".
At the Oktoberfest main entrance, the site of the attack, he read out the list of the twelve Oktoberfest visitors killed at the time during a wreath-laying ceremony on Thursday.
The "memory is awake," said Reiter.
The commemoration was attended by survivors and families of victims.
On the evening of September 26, 1980, a bomb killed twelve Oktoberfest visitors and the right-wing extremist bomber Gundolf Köhler himself.
More than 200 people were injured.
It was the worst right-wing extremist attack in the history of the Federal Republic.
Three million guests so far
According to Bayerischer Rundfunk, around three million guests visited the Oktoberfest in the first week, 300,000 fewer than in 2019. In comparison, 15 percent less beer was drunk.
As the organizers announced, for the first time in years, mulled wine will be served again at the Munich Oktoberfest.
The festival management allowed the sale of the wintry hot drink.
Because of the bad weather forecast for the second week of the festival, it was decided to allow sales at ice cream stands, said festival director Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU) halfway through the festival.
Already in 2008, mulled wine was served after it had been around or even below ten degrees for days.
At that time, several thousand liters were drunk.
ala/dpa/AFP