A German mayor who was elected less than two weeks ago was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition after she was stabbed near her home.

The mayor-elect of the town of Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia, Iris Stalzer was found by paramedics in a critical condition on Tuesday before being airlifted to hospital for emergency treatment. The centre-left SPD local politician, who is a lawyer by trade, was stabbed multiple times in the upper torso but was apparently able to crawl back to her home, from where a call to emergency services was made.

Early reports state that a gang on multiple men were thought to have attacked Stalzer. German newspaper Die Welt now states that Stalzer’s 15-year-old adoptive son was led away by police in handcuffs, and that there may have been an earlier domestic incident involving an adoptive daughter and a knife earlier this year.

It is stated the two teenage adoptive children were the ones who called the emergency services to report an attack.

Police have made no definite statements on suspects, arrests, or motives at the time of publication.

Actors from across the political spectrum, including her own party and the conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, refrained from speculating on events or motive but condemned the act of violence in statements on Tuesday.

This story is developing, more follows