Two killed in knife attack at private school in Gosen-Neu Zittau
An 18-year-old and a 30-year-old educator were killed at Docemus private school in Brandenburg. A 19-year-old German was arrested.
Violence at Brandenburg school: 19-year-old arrested after two killed
Two people were killed at Docemus private school in Gosen-Neu Zittau (Brandenburg) on Thursday afternoon. According to BILD, a 19-year-old German was preliminarily arrested as the suspected perpetrator. The victims are an 18-year-old student and a 30-year-old educator at the school.
Multiple emergency calls came in to police around 13.45. Numerous police, fire, and ambulance personnel immediately deployed to the school grounds in the municipality of around 3,500 inhabitants, including two rescue helicopters.
The 30-year-old educator is said to have died when he attempted to stop the suspected perpetrator. The suspected perpetrator is believed to be the ex-boyfriend of the killed 18-year-old. According to information from the Märkische Onlinezeitung, it was a knife attack. Police have not yet commented on the exact course of events or a possible murder weapon.
It remains unclear whether the 19-year-old currently attends the school or was a student there in the past. How many other people were injured was also initially unknown.
The area around the campus was cordoned off widely. Temporary screening blocked the view of the playground whilst forensic technicians in protective suits began evidence gathering. Heavily armed police officers surrounded the premises.
After the arrest of the suspected perpetrator, authorities do not believe there is any further danger to students and teachers. Around 18.00, numerous students were still in the gymnasium. "Some of the children are currently still here in the gymnasium because we would of course like to hand them over to their parents or guardians," explained a police spokesman. Emergency pastoral care workers stood by the shocked students and their relatives.
Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) expressed himself as "deeply affected" by the act. The violence "shakes our entire state," he said. "Our schools should be a haven for our young people. Here, a school has become the scene of an incomprehensible act of violence."
Source: BILD