The site where Reker was stabbed Saturday
Oliver Berg / AFP / Getty Images
A political candidate who police say was stabbed in the neck in Cologne, Germany, for her views in support of migrants and refugees coming to the country was elected mayor on Sunday.
Henriette Reker, an independent candidate who runs the city's programs for migrants, was stabbed several times in the neck on Saturday, police said.
The attack was "targeted and deliberate," Norbert Wagner, the head of the local criminal investigation unit, said at a news conference. "In his plea, he said that he committed this act out of xenophobic motivation."
Reker's team later wrote on Twitter they were relieved that she had recovered from the attack.
On Sunday, official results showed Reker had won more than 50% of the vote, and she was declared the winner of the election.
Writing on Twitter, the Reker campaign thanked voters for their confidence in choosing to "reboot" Cologne.
The 44-year-old suspect will appear in court Sunday.
An aide to Reker was also stabbed and is undergoing treatment.
Reker is an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her spokesman on Saturday said on Twitter, “Our thoughts are with Henriette Reker and the others who were injured in the knife attack.”
Oliver Berg / AFP / Getty Images
When asked if the suspect directly references Reker's position on migrants, Wagner said, "No. He made general statements in that direction — he didn't mention Ms. Merkel at all," according to the AP.
Over the past several months, thousands of refugees and migrants fleeing war-torn countries — especially Syria — are making the grueling trip to Europe.
Many are specifically going to Germany, which has one of Europe's most open policies concerning refugees and is seen as a beacon of economic opportunity.
SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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