Anti-terrorism prosecutors in Germany will take over the investigation into Friday’s knife attack in Mannheim that killed a police officer, a spokeswoman told AFP on Monday.
The spokeswoman said the office took on the case due to the "singular importance" of the attack, which sparked alarm in Germany.
A 25-year-old Afghan is accused of attacking people with a knife at an anti-Islam rally in the western city of Mannheim.
A police officer, 29, died on Sunday after being repeatedly stabbed during the attack. Five people taking part in a rally organized by Pax Europa, a campaign group against radical Islam, were wounded in the attack.
The suspect faces possible charges of murder, attempted murder and five counts of serious bodily harm, the spokeswoman said, according to AFP.
Police said an officer shot and wounded the attacker. The suspect underwent surgery and could not yet be interrogated.
Germany has been on high alert for possible Islamist attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
The country's domestic intelligence chief warned that the risk of such assaults is "real and higher than it has been for a long time".
In late October, police in the western German city of Essen arrested a man who plotted to attack a pro-Israel demonstration.
In December, a 15-year-old boy was arrested in western Germany on suspicion of planning a possible attack on a Christmas market.
Weeks later, German police arrested three people over an alleged attack plot targeting the cathedral in Cologne on New Year's Eve.
In late May, German authorities arrested two men suspected of plotting a knife attack on worshippers at a synagogue in the southwestern city of Heidelberg.