Five students are said to have been injured in the attack, two of them seriously. The two seriously injured students are in the intensive care unit. In addition, the suspect himself is said to have life-threatening injuries. He is also in the intensive care unit. According to a police spokesman, investigators are assuming an amok attack.
Large-scale operation at the Wuppertal school | Image source: dp/Roberto Pfeil
The school building has now been cleared. All students receive psychological support. The Wuppertal public prosecutor’s office is conducting the criminal investigation.
According to information from the district government, there will be no classes at the high school tomorrow – but the students should work through the events together with psychologists.
Police alarm system
When it comes to such acts, the police have a very intact alarm system, said NRW-Interior Minister Herbert Reul dem WDR. “We’re playing it safe, especially at schools, and it turns out it was a good thing because the perpetrator was caught.“
The SEK surrounded and searched the school building Image source: dp/Roberto Pfeil
The exact background to the crime is still unclear. Prosecutors and police have confirmed that the suspect was in a mental health crisis. It is said to be a 17-year-old high school classmate.
“It was a sudden attack”
According to a teacher who was in the school building, the alleged attacker used a knife and scissors. ““It was a sudden, sudden attack,” the person told WDR. “He attacked students around him, sometimes even his friends, and ended up stabbing himself four times in the chest. A colleague overwhelmed him.”
The teacher was not an eyewitness, but provided first aid to the five victims in the office.
The students barricaded themselves in the classrooms in the morning. A police helicopter also circled during the large-scale police operation.
Police operation at Wuppertal high school – injured students.
WDR Studios NRW.
02/22/2024.
02:07 Min..
Available until February 21, 2026.
WDR Online.
School Minister Feller: Offers close support for schools
NRW Schools Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) referred in conversation with the WDR on the ongoing police investigation. She also said they were in contact with the school. “Our thoughts are also with the school, the parents, the students and the teachers. I also spoke to the school management again on the phone.”says Feller. The state has offered to support the Wuppertal school closely.
In this context, Feller also mentioned the so-called emergency kits for schools that the state updated last year, which contain recommendations for action for various crisis cases. The school management confirmed that this emergency kit also helped the Wuppertal high school a lot.
Students are brought to safety | Image source: dp/Roberto Pfeil
We will now wait for the police investigation to then decide whether there needs to be more support for schools in such cases, said Feller.
We also report on this topic on WDR radio in the news and on WDR television on WDR aktuell at 12.45 p.m.
Our sources:
- Wuppertal Police
- WDR reporter on site
- Wuppertal Public Prosecutor’s Office
- Düsseldorf Police
- NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul in conversation with WDR
- NRW Schools Minister Dorothee Feller in conversation with WDR