The newly elected mayor of a town in western Germany was found at her apartment on Tuesday with serious stabbing wounds, German media reported. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said she was the victim of “an abhorrent act.”

Iris Stalzer was elected as mayor of Herdecke on September 28. She is a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, the junior party in Germany's conservative-led national government.

German news agency dpa, citing unidentified security sources, reported that she was found with life-threatening injuries and had several stabbing wounds.

Police said only that there was a large operation underway in Herdecke.

Merz wrote on social media that “we fear for the life of mayor-elect Iris Stalzer and hope for her full recovery.”