Andreas Holstein, mayor of the German city of Altena, was stabbed in the neck after he agreed to receive a larger quota of migrants than required by law.
Holstein was stabbed by an anonymous 56-year-old man who asked if he was the mayor and then stabbed him. The man admitted on interrogation that his motive was the decision by the mayor to host a larger number of Muslim migrants in the town.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed shock at the attack and said she was happy to hear that he had returned to his family. "I thank those who helped him," Merkel said.