Bavaria's Regional Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said the adult victim, a 41-year-old passer-by, died while trying to shield a child in a kindergarten group from a man attacking them with a "kitchen knife" in the city of Aschaffenburg around 11:45am on Wednesday.
A two-year-old boy of Moroccan origin was also killed along with three other people wounded, including a 61-year-old man, a child and a teacher, according to officials.
It’s understood the suspect, who had a history of violent behaviour, was undergoing psychiatric treatment.