MesserMonitor statistics place published knife attacks, knife threats, robbery and extortion involving a knife in their regional and temporal context. The federal-state comparison shows case counts and cases per 100,000 residents. Further analysis shows absolute case numbers by period, case type, level of use and reported injury outcome.
Comparison year2026
Federal states compared · 2026
Cases through August 29, 2026
Comparison of published cases by federal state with population, immigration history and people seeking protection.
Population Immigration history People seeking protectionMesserMonitor cases
Baden-Württemberg
11,245,909 Population
13.47 %32.06 %3.40 %
311 Cases · 2.77 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bavaria
13,260,815 Population
15.88 %26.18 %2.98 %
253 Cases · 1.91 Cases per 100,000 residents
Berlin
3,701,307 Population
4.43 %35.45 %5.21 %
109 Cases · 2.94 Cases per 100,000 residents
Brandenburg
2,552,851 Population
3.06 %10.07 %2.96 %
22 Cases · 0.86 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bremen
706,901 Population
0.85 %40.03 %6.62 %
49 Cases · 6.93 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hamburg
1,869,801 Population
2.24 %35.51 %4.12 %
40 Cases · 2.14 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hesse
6,281,600 Population
7.52 %33.51 %4.42 %
259 Cases · 4.12 Cases per 100,000 residents
Lower Saxony
8,002,922 Population
9.58 %22.62 %4.24 %
174 Cases · 2.17 Cases per 100,000 residents
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
1,567,290 Population
1.88 %8.61 %3.34 %
27 Cases · 1.72 Cases per 100,000 residents
North Rhine-Westphalia
17,999,392 Population
21.55 %30.14 %4.40 %
508 Cases · 2.82 Cases per 100,000 residents
Rhineland-Palatinate
4,124,910 Population
4.94 %25.87 %3.51 %
102 Cases · 2.47 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saarland
1,008,047 Population
1.21 %24.11 %5.35 %
7 Cases · 0.69 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony
4,024,188 Population
4.82 %10.49 %3.41 %
87 Cases · 2.16 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony-Anhalt
2,121,638 Population
2.54 %9.95 %3.69 %
62 Cases · 2.92 Cases per 100,000 residents
Schleswig-Holstein
2,959,859 Population
3.54 %19.29 %4.03 %
42 Cases · 1.42 Cases per 100,000 residents
Thuringia
2,081,288 Population
2.49 %10.19 %3.49 %
49 Cases · 2.35 Cases per 100,000 residents
Analysis and result
The figures are based on publicly reported cases found through the evaluated sources.
Social context
Each point represents a federal state. Its position connects the selected social indicator with published cases per 100,000 residents.
Area statesCity states
Result for the selected indicatorData table and sources
A woman was allegedly seriously injured with a kitchen knife during a long-running dispute in Frankfurt am Main. Two suspects have been remanded in custody.
Following a family dispute, a woman followed a 29-year-old woman into a supermarket in Grafenau while carrying a kitchen knife. Staff restrained her until police arrived.
A masked man threatened a petrol station employee in Munich with a knife and stole several hundred euros. The employee was unharmed and the suspect fled.
Two unidentified suspects allegedly pulled a sleeping van driver from his vehicle at an A2 service area near Bielefeld, threatened him with a knife and robbed him. They fled with his wallet and jacket.
According to the current findings, a man approached police officers with a knife during an operation in Herne. Police used firearms, and the man died at the scene.
A 54-year-old man was seriously injured after being attacked with a pointed object in a parking lot in Rösrath-Hoffnungsthal following a restaurant visit. The attacker remains at large.
A resident was threatened with a knife during a dispute at accommodation for asylum seekers in Mutterstadt. Two suspects and three other residents sustained minor injuries.
During a dispute involving eight people in Aulendorf, a woman is alleged to have held a knife threateningly towards other participants. Nobody was injured.
A 44-year-old man suffered multiple life-threatening stab wounds during a dispute outside a kiosk in Essen. A 41-year-old suspect was provisionally detained.
A man allegedly sexually harassed a minor on a rail-replacement bus and then threatened her with a kitchen knife. Federal police arrested the suspect and seized a knife.
A 43-year-old man died after severe stab wounds in Legden. A detention order on suspicion of manslaughter was issued against a 30-year-old accused man.
A 45-year-old woman was seriously injured after her separated husband allegedly attacked her with a knife in Niederkrüchten-Brempt on Saturday evening, police said.
