Knife attack at grammar school in Schongau: Two 13-year-olds seriously injured
A 16-year-old attacked two pupils with a knife at the Welfen-Gymnasium in Schongau on Wednesday, seriously injuring them. The suspected perpetrator was quickly arrested.
Rampage in Schongau: 16-year-old injures two girls with knife
Shortly before 1 p.m., a 16-year-old attacked two 13-year-old pupils with a knife at the Welfen-Gymnasium in Upper Bavaria's Schongau, seriously injuring them. Police officers who arrived first on the scene quickly arrested the suspected perpetrator, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Both girls were hospitalised with stab wounds in the afternoon but were out of danger. A pistol that the 16-year-old was reportedly carrying, according to police, was apparently not used.
Three hours after the initial alarm, heavily armed officers entered the school centre buildings to ensure there were no accomplices or copycat perpetrators in the corridors and classrooms. According to police, there were no indications of accomplices, contrary to various rumours circulating.
Several hundred police officers were deployed, along with emergency services, disaster control and crisis intervention teams. Police had to coordinate the orderly evacuation of several hundred pupils from the school buildings. ADAC air rescue reported the deployment of a total of six helicopters, four of them from their own fleet; one of them was used to provide medical care to the injured.
The rampage alarm was raised at approximately 12.50 p.m., throwing the town of Schongau, which has around 13,000 residents and is situated on the Lech, into chaos. Many pupils, parents and teachers were traumatised by the act and were therefore also considered casualties. The public was urged to stay away from the school grounds. Police set up a point of contact for relatives and parents at the fire station on Bahnhofstraße.
The Welfen-Gymnasium has around 800 pupils and is located near Schongau's old town, in the immediate vicinity of a primary school, secondary school and the Pfaffenwinkel-Realschule. Police left open whether the 16-year-old was himself a pupil at the gymnasium. Officers also did not name the exact location of the attack and merely referred to it as occurring "at the school". The motive remained unclear; on other questions, police cited investigative reasons.
Minister-President Markus Söder (CSU) described the incident as a rampage. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the rampage in Schongau," Söder said. "Such a terrible act causes not only visible but also many invisible wounds. Healing the soul will take a long time." Söder thanked police and rescue organisations for their swift action and appealed for solidarity: "The school community and families now need time, strength and support to process these events."
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung