Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) said she would modify the draft law to enhance protection for deployment and rescue personnel and could extend it to railway staff.

“The murder of the train attendant in Rhineland‑Palatinate shocked me” Hubig told the newspapers of the Funke media group in their Friday editions. “Many people in Germany feel that this brutal act is not an isolated incident. We are witnessing a rise in aggression and willingness to use violence in public spaces”.

The draft proposes harsher penalties for attacks on emergency and rescue personnel and is currently under consideration. “In this context we are also evaluating whether further adjustments to the draft are warranted, so that the particular injustice of attacks against especially vulnerable occupational groups such as train attendants is better reflected” she added.