Authorities in Berlin have detained a teenage Syrian refugee after a man was stabbed near the city’s Holocaust Memorial late Friday – as divisive rhetoric swells over Germany’s immigration policy, ahead of a consequential national election.

Detectives launched a large-scale manhunt across Berlin on Friday after a stabbing at the city's Holocaust memorial, two days before the country’s national elections.Three hours after the incident, officers sweeping through streets near the scene came upon an unidentified man whose hands were covered in blood,

The suspect, a Syrian refugee, told the police that a plan had come into his mind to kill Jews. The attack raises tensions just before an election in which immigration is a big issue.