Another incident.....

It happened at Eugene's bar. Apparently the bomber has attempted suicide in the past.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/24/one-dead-and-ten-injured-after-restaurant-blast-in-german-city-o/

Tom of Lewiston is this your former town?

As someone who spent a carefree year in Europe as a college student in the 90's, I am incredibly saddened by what seems to be daily terror attacks. I have traveled extensively throughout the continent for years and truly have an affection for many, many Europeans I have met while traveling there. The current situation, particularly in France and Germany, is certainly impacting travel plans for many people that I have visited with in the recent past. I have a friend who has led an annual tour in Germany for years but who has decided to cancel this year. She said a tour last Fall was a frightening experience for many on the tour, particularly with some incidents that occurred after dark in medium-sized city in Germany's north. These types of things were literally inconceivable 30 years ago. I hope that people will continue to travel to Europe as a sign of support for friends across the Atlantic, but people DO need to understand the kinds of incidents that are occurring with alarming frequency at this time - especially in Germany and parts of Scandinavia. It's only with that information that travelers can take precautions to reduce their chances of being a victimized.

jhouston,

" I hope that people will continue to travel to Europe as a sign of support for friends across the Atlantic"

Although I'm a bit more apprehensive, I still plan on travelling in Europe this year and will be in southern Germany in the fall. That's the only country on my Itinerary this year that I have any concerns with.

Kaeleku,

Wow, those charts sure put things in perspective! I'm hoping the spikes in 2015 / 2016 an anomaly, and hopefully things settle down soon.

And yesterday there was a 21 year old Syrian asylum seeker who killed a 45 year old woman with a machete and injured 5 more. Police said it's not a terrorist attack. Okay. We have to get used to idiots carrying a machete in public. Not.

Kaeleku's statistics should be compared with this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States#/media/File%3AUshomicidesbyweapon.svg

Mona,

No, I think you're confusing me with James, who no longer posts here. I lived near Darmstadt and Mannheim.

Beyond the individual tragedies of the these events, I fear that the accumulated anguish is going to change Germany for the worse.

And now it is Florida's turn again. So sad for the family and friends.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36882456

Whatever our fears, the actual risks in Germany are pretty low.

The Department of State statistics should ease your mind about traveling to Germany. Over 5 years (Dec. 2010 - Dec 2015) 103 Americans lost their lives in Germany under unnatural circumstances. Only 4 of those deaths were homicides. The rest were mostly accidents (including 12 car/motorcycle-related deaths, and 3 drownings) and suicides (41.) About 2,400,000 Americans visited Germany in 2014 according to the German Federal Bureau of Statistics - if that's typical, then the risks of being killed by someone else in Germany are 1 in 3,000,000.

As it turns out, Americans in Germany are 10 times more likely to kill themselves than to be killed by someone else; you are almost as likely to die by bathing in Germany as you are at the hand of an attacker.

I think the fears we experience at the hand of media reports are natural, but we must keep in mind what the media tell us and what they don't.

From a recent TIME article... Robert Cavaliere is the chief product officer for Allianz insurance...

" 'More people die from coconuts falling on their heads than shark attacks every year,' Cavaliere says. 'You hear about the shark attacks. You don’t hear about the coconut attacks.' Although data on coconut injuries are sketchy, suffice it to say that neither is a good reason to cancel your exotic beach vacation. '

The data indicate to me that mass shootings really are not a very large source of danger, either in Europe or in America. In Europe, deaths per capita from mass shootings are nearly identical in number to those in the USA. All casualties (again, per capita) from mass shootings in Europe are about 50% higher in Europe than in the USA. This came as a big surprise to me, given the strong gun laws and the supposed scarcity of guns in Europe.

http://crimeresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Screen-Shot-2016-04-05-at-Tuesday-April-5-1.04-AM.png

Don't take Russia Today as a news source. Their mission statement is "We are doing propaganda. The others are doing propaganda, too, but we are at least telling we do."

Russ,

As you noted, the sample size of mass shooting is relatively small, despite the perception the media portrays. As in any small sample size, a few outliers can skew the data. It looks like the apparent large differences in the fatality rate between US and European mass shooting events can be explained primarily by two events, the massacres in Norway and Paris, which were planned in far more detail than most such attacks.

I'm just thankful that these attacks are still rare enough that the data can still be influenced by a few extreme data points!

jjj the RT report matches almost identically to two reports I saw this morning from British news sources. So I don't understand your point. Just because this report came from RT does mean the incident did not occur as they published it.

The mass casualty attacks are causing the most concern and obviously get the most media coverage. But I think the other types of incidents causing concern are assaults or, particularly, sexual assaults which have become far more common in Germany and Northern Europe. Women traveling alone or in small groups should be aware of these types of incidents and take appropriate precautions. Again, I am not suggesting people stop traveling to Europe - quite the opposite - but travelers need honest and transparent information which, unfortunately, they don't seem to be getting from all sources at this time. Regarding the mass casualty terrorist events, I would only add that the types of bombings in past decades were (in general) more aimed at political targets. Recent attacks have targeted everyday people enjoying themselves and, sickest of all, children. While we do not yet have a huge number of deaths this year compared to some years past, make no mistake: If the pace of recent attacks continues, Europe may see it's bloodiest year in decades. I encourage people to continue to travel to all countries and corners of Europe but please take precautions to minimize the risks and I agree that the overwhelming odds are that you will arrive home safe, sound, and more enriched.

After a two year hiatus from Europe we have made plans to visit Switzerland, Germany, and the Czech Republic in September. Our tenth trip in twenty years. While alarmed and shocked with these ferocious, savage attacks, I refuse to be intimidated. Simply put, I'm not going to allow these cowards (terrorist) to take Europe away from me. I still go to the beach ever though I know there are sharks in the water, and I'm going to Europe this September even with the increased threat of random violence. I won't be deterred and I'm hoping that the majority of the Rick Steves Nation won't be either.

Furnacefighter, if I remember correctly, Switzerland and C.R. unlike Germany never had a terrorist attack. Maybe they are better screening their immigrants (and of course they have fewer of them). You should be safe there.

Elaine, the untrue part of it is "German officials have said that attacks will only intensify." No, they haven't said that.