Son of former German president stabbed to death on stage while giving lecture

Attacker's motive is unknown, police say

The son of a former German president has been murdered on stage while delivering a medical lecture in Berlin, police have said.

Fritz von Weizsacker was stabbed to death at a Charlottenburg hospital where he worked as a senior physician after the attacker jumped up from the audience.

An off-duty police officer who tried to intervene was seriously injured, Berlin Police said.

Mr von Weizsacker died from injuries at the scene of the Schlosspark hospital attack.

The suspect was apprehended by several people and has been arrested, police said.

 

“We cannot yet say anything about the attacker’s motive,” said police spokesman Michael Gassen.

The 59-year-old victim’s father, Richard von Weizsacker, was one of Germany’s most esteemed presidents – a largely ceremonial post – between 1984 to 1994.

The former head of state, who oversaw Germany’s reunification, used his office to denounce intolerance towards immigrants and address Germany’s Nazi past.

Policemen, firefighters and medical staff stand in front of the Schlosspark hospital after the attack (dpa/AFP/Getty) (PAUL ZINKEN/dpa/AFP via Getty Images)

The physician was one of the ex-president’s four children.

Mr von Weizsacker studied and worked at several hospitals in Germany and abroad, including the Harvard Medical School in Boston, US, and a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland.

He specialised in gastroenterology and internal medicine. On Tuesday night, he was giving an open lecture about fatty liver disease.

The murder of Mr von Weizsacker echoes a similar incident in 2016, when a man fatally shot a doctor at Berlin’s Benjamin Franklin Hospital before killing himself.

Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democrats, called him “a passionate doctor and a fine person” on Twitter.

“He was at our house the other day for a barbecue. I am stunned and must share my grief”.

“Once again, you wonder what world we live in”.

Associated Press contributed to this report