In the early morning of 26 August, after a festival celebrating the city's founding, a fight broke out resulting in the death of a German man and serious injuries to two other people.

The incident reignited the tensions surrounding immigration to Germany, which had been ongoing since 2015, and the European migrant crisis.

In 2017, almost a quarter of the city's residents voted in elections for the right wing to far right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

"[13] One of these suspects was named in the days after the attack as Yousif Ibrahim Abdullah from Bashiqa, and the arrest warrant for him was leaked in multiple newspapers on 28 August, which went against German privacy regulations.

[16][17][19] Police in Saxony announced on 4 September that they were "urgently" seeking a third suspect in the murder, Farhad Ramazan Ahmad, listing him as a 22-year-old Iraqi citizen who was possibly armed and dangerous.

[23] German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) expressed his condolences to Hillig's family.

[26] Friends of the victim criticised the police in Chemnitz for their "failure to control the three-day city festival."

[8] There were several rumours circulating after the stabbing, including that the attack was in response to sexual harassment, and that another of the injured men had died.

[30] In August 2019, 24-year-old Kurdish Syrian national Alaa S. was declared guilty of murder and bodily harm and sentenced to nine years and six months prison time.

For security reasons, the verdict was announced in a building belonging to the Higher Regional Court of Dresden.

[32] This protest became violent, and the group also incited individuals to attack and harass foreigners and people who appeared to be non-ethnic Germans.

[9][33] Deutsche Welle reported that the size of this group quickly expanded into the thousands, and grew less peaceful.

[35] The rioters had reportedly calmed down by Tuesday morning,[8] but far-right groups encouraged people to continue protesting.

[citation needed] The anti-immigration group, calling themselves Pro Chemnitz, carried banners with right-wing slogans during the protest.

Path, the National Democratic Party of Germany,[38][39] the Die Rechte, some Freie Kameradschaften groups, the Junge Nationalisten,[40] Autonome Nationalisten,[41] as well as other right-wing to far-right groups like the NS-Boys, the Faust des Ostens, Inferno,[40] and other right-wing organisations like Wir sind Kandel,[40] Pegida, Wir für Deutschland,[42] Bündnis Zukunft Hildburghausen,[43] The Republicans,[44] the German Social Union,[45] the Sächsische Volkspartei,[46] the Reichsbürger movement[44] and the Identitarian movement.

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, accompanied by other state and local politicians, held a "consultation hour" in the arena, which was attended by 550 citizens.

[51] However, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, criticized the reporting on the "manhunt" and stated no such a thing had taken place.

[53][54] One of the vice presidents of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP), claimed that Angela Merkel's dictum, "Wir schaffen das," was the "root of the violence" in Chemnitz.

"[55][clarification needed] The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs supplemented its travel advice for Germany, telling people to "be careful in the vicinity of demonstrations, as riots are possible.

"[56][57] On 31 August 2018, the police said that the football match of the 2nd Bundesliga between Dynamo Dresden and Hamburger SV on 1 September 2018 should be cancelled.