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 October 24, 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 %
360 Cases · 3.20 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bavaria
13,260,815 Population
15.88 %26.18 %2.98 %
322 Cases · 2.43 Cases per 100,000 residents
Berlin
3,701,307 Population
4.43 %35.45 %5.21 %
132 Cases · 3.57 Cases per 100,000 residents
Brandenburg
2,552,851 Population
3.06 %10.07 %2.96 %
73 Cases · 2.86 Cases per 100,000 residents
Bremen
706,901 Population
0.85 %40.03 %6.62 %
59 Cases · 8.35 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hamburg
1,869,801 Population
2.24 %35.51 %4.12 %
53 Cases · 2.83 Cases per 100,000 residents
Hesse
6,281,600 Population
7.52 %33.51 %4.42 %
303 Cases · 4.82 Cases per 100,000 residents
Lower Saxony
8,002,922 Population
9.58 %22.62 %4.24 %
197 Cases · 2.46 Cases per 100,000 residents
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
1,567,290 Population
1.88 %8.61 %3.34 %
33 Cases · 2.11 Cases per 100,000 residents
North Rhine-Westphalia
17,999,392 Population
21.55 %30.14 %4.40 %
613 Cases · 3.41 Cases per 100,000 residents
Rhineland-Palatinate
4,124,910 Population
4.94 %25.87 %3.51 %
112 Cases · 2.72 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saarland
1,008,047 Population
1.21 %24.11 %5.35 %
9 Cases · 0.89 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony
4,024,188 Population
4.82 %10.49 %3.41 %
113 Cases · 2.81 Cases per 100,000 residents
Saxony-Anhalt
2,121,638 Population
2.54 %9.95 %3.69 %
78 Cases · 3.68 Cases per 100,000 residents
Schleswig-Holstein
2,959,859 Population
3.54 %19.29 %4.03 %
68 Cases · 2.30 Cases per 100,000 residents
Thuringia
2,081,288 Population
2.49 %10.19 %3.49 %
57 Cases · 2.74 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 masked man demanded money at knifepoint from a 66-year-old employee at a Munich petrol station on 7 October. The employee escaped and nobody was injured; a 20-year-old suspect was arrested.
A 44-year-old prisoner attacked a 48-year-old fellow inmate with a knife at Kaisheim prison on October 6. The man sustained minor cuts; police are investigating a suspected attempted homicide.
A 36-year-old man threatened police officers with a knife in Munich on 6 October. He and an officer were injured in a later fall; no knife injury was reported.
A 42-year-old woman was found dead in an apartment in Stralsund after a fire. A preliminary autopsy found that she died from multiple stab wounds; a 23-year-old suspect is in pre-trial detention.
Two men threatened an employee at a gaming arcade in Erding with a pointed object and demanded cash. They were arrested after fleeing, and both were ordered into pre-trial detention.
A 42-year-old man says he was threatened with a knife at Bonifaziusplatz in Mainz before several people beat and kicked him. He sustained injuries to his head and face.
A 53-year-old man allegedly seriously injured a 40-year-old man with a knife-like object at a commercial site on Herzbergstraße in Berlin. The suspect was arrested, and the injured man underwent emergency surgery.
A masked man threatened a petrol station employee in Munich with a knife and took cash. The employee was unhurt, and police are searching for the suspect.
During a confrontation in Wiesentheid, one of two unidentified men allegedly made stabbing motions with a knife towards a 20-year-old man. He dodged them but was slightly injured during the altercation.
Early on 5 October in Giessen, an unidentified man allegedly threatened another man with a small knife and stole cash and jewellery. The victim was unhurt, and the robber fled.
A 47-year-old man allegedly attacked a 58-year-old woman he knew with a kitchen knife in Friedrichshafen. She was slightly injured while defending herself, and a pre-trial detention order was issued against him.
Passers-by found a 21-year-old man with serious stab wounds near a bus stop by Scheidplatz in Munich. Homicide detectives are investigating a suspected attempted killing.
Three unidentified men allegedly threatened a 77-year-old woman with a knife and restrained her in her home in Bremen-Blumenthal. They fled empty-handed, and an initial search was unsuccessful.
During a dispute at a farm in Sundhagen, a 36-year-old man allegedly attacked a 58-year-old man with a knife. The injured man was taken to hospital; the suspect was detained temporarily and later released.
Knives were among the weapons used when two groups clashed in Berlin-Altglienicke. Two young men were injured, but the report does not attribute their injuries to the knives.
A 44-year-old man was seriously injured with a knife during an altercation outside a café in Wuppertal. Another participant sustained minor injuries, and the suspect fled.
