German teen turns himself in over attack on European election candidate

BERLIN (AP) — A teenager surrendered to police on Sunday over an attack on a candidate from the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz that fueled concern about intimidation and violence in the run-up to next month’s election for the European Parliament.

The 17-year-old, accompanied by a parent, turned himself in at a police station in the eastern city of Dresden at 1 a.m., Saxony state police said. “He admitted the act but didn’t go beyond that,” police spokeswoman Silvaine Reiche said.

Matthias Ecke, a candidate for the Social Democrats in the June 9 election, was attacked by four people while putting up posters in Dresden on Friday evening. The party said he was taken to a hospital and required surgery for his injuries.

Both government and opposition parties say their members and supporters have faced a wave of physical and verbal attacks in recent months and have called for greater protection for politicians and election rallies.