Knife attack at Brandenburg school: 19-year-old was already known to authorities
A 19-year-old is suspected of stabbing two people to death at a private school in Gosen-Neu Zittau. The suspect was already known to police and the public prosecutor's office.
Two dead in Gosen-Neu Zittau: suspect was already under investigation
According to Google News DE — Crime (de), a 19-year-old stabbed his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend and a 30-year-old childcare worker to death on the campus of the Docemus private school in Gosen-Neu Zittau in Oder-Spree district on Thursday afternoon. The childcare worker had attempted to prevent the attack. Around 13:45, police received several emergency calls; officers and rescue services were unable to help either victim despite resuscitation attempts.
The public prosecutor's office has accused the arrested suspect of two counts of murder and filed a motion for remand in custody. The 19-year-old has so far remained silent about the allegations.
Pre-trial investigations regarding prohibited object
As reported first by Tagesspiegel and confirmed by the Frankfurt (Oder) public prosecutor's office to t-online, investigations had already been conducted against the accused in 2023 — at that time he was 16 years old. According to the information, a possible violation of the Assembly Act was investigated "in connection with a football match in Berlin", specifically the carrying of a prohibited object. The proceedings were discontinued due to lack of significance.
Regarding the motive, police are currently working on the assumption of a "relationship crime". According to reports, the Docemus private school was the ex-girlfriend's school; the suspect is said to have attended a different school in the region.
Political reactions and social context
Brandenburg's State Parliament President Ulrike Liedtke (SPD) described the act as a "cowardly femicide that has no place in our society". It filled her "with deep sorrow and anger" that once again a woman had become a victim of deadly violence, Liedtke said. "It shocks me that a citizen who showed civic courage and wanted to help also lost his life in this terrible attack."
The Federal Criminal Police Office most recently recorded 308 women and girls as victims of attempted and completed homicides "in the area of intimate partner violence". In Germany, on average almost every day a man attempts to kill his current or former partner.
Mourning at the school
Michael Kunz, spokesman for the parent company of the Docemus schools, stated that it would be very difficult to return to any form of normality. The killed student had been well known to everyone. On Friday morning, at least half of all students, some with family members, came to the school to mourn — lessons are suspended for the time being.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)