The Wurzburg train axe and knife attack by an 17-year-old Afghan national on Sunday, July 18,2016 The young assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor to Germany and has been placed in Ochsenfurt in the Bavarian Wurzburg District in a foster home. At first he was placed with 250 other refugees, some 60 of whom were unaccompanied minors as him. A spokesperson from Ochsenfurt has been quoted by merkur.de saying: "We are very close to the refugees and have had absolutely nothing but positive experience with the people," she continued: "There has never been any kind of incident. There is a very peaceful and good interaction with each other, so we are all shocked and saddened." The attack fuelled the debate on asylum policy in Germany again. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, in view of the bloody deed, affirmed the CSU’s demand to limit the influx of refugees.

People helping asylum-seekers in Bavaria now fear the consequences the attack might have in their communities on people’s view on refugees. One of those helpers told merkur.de yesterday that: "We need to work out a strategy," the 70-year-old said. "We need to be sensitive to signs, for countering them in time." He also told the newspaper: "We try every day to show that people, who flee to us, can be part of our society. But I'm afraid that what happened in Wurzburg has put us back.”

He is by no means the only refugee helper in Bavaria with deep concernd following the news on Tuesday. Jost Herrmann, asylum coordinator asylum in Weilheim, wonders whether the refugees are going to have to struggle with more prejudices - especially the Afghans. "Whoever had prejudices anyway, will now feel confirmed", he suspects. "All others will hopefully not generalize."