crime
Attack on the university in Hamm: the suspect testifies later
At the beginning of the trial in the district court of Dortmund, the accused sits next to his defense attorney Ina Klimke in the courtroom. photo
© Dieter Menne/dpa
An apparently mentally ill man randomly stabs people at a university. Four people are injured – one woman so badly that she dies. The alleged perpetrator is now before the court.
A 30-year-old died and three other people were injured, some seriously: Six months ago, a man attacked several people in a foyer and lecture hall at Hamm-Lippstadt University. The trial against the alleged perpetrator began in Dortmund on Thursday. The 34-year-old is considered to be mentally seriously ill and therefore not guilty. The court will therefore only deal with the question of whether the man is a danger to the general public and therefore has to be placed in a closed clinic for an indefinite period.
Driven by severe delusions, the man is said to have entered the university grounds on the afternoon of June 10th. According to the investigation, he imagined that everyone at the university belonged to a “clan” that was after his life. The man is said to have stabbed people indiscriminately with two kitchen knives.
A 30-year-old lecturer listening to a guest lecture suffered fatal injuries. She lost so much blood that even the doctors at the University Hospital in Münster were unable to save her life. Three other victims survived the attacks, some with serious injuries
On the first day of the hearing, the accused did not provide any information on the matter. He will speak if the psychiatrist commissioned by the court can also take part in the hearing, it said. After that, the judges will hear witnesses.