The emergency call comes in at around 9.45 a.m., then everything happens very quickly: After an amok alarm in a school complex in Bischofswerda, east of Dresden, the police are quickly on site with a large contingent of 80 officers, including a dog unit. The building is cleared, girls and boys are brought to safety. According to the police, a 16-year-old had entered the premises on Wednesday morning, attacked an eight-year-old with a knife and seriously injured him. The youth then set himself on fire.
The question of why remains unanswered for the time being. New details will follow in the afternoon. According to the police, the alleged perpetrator used to attend this school himself. “Contrary to some statements and rumors on social networks, we can also announce that the 16-year-old has no migration background,” said the Görlitz police department.
The school building in Bischofswerda is searched for the crime. The police seized bags, knives, bottles and lighters.
(Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa)
Forces of the emergency platoon had searched the school building with the support of the fire brigade at this time. The officers found, among other things, several bags, knives, bottles and lighters and secured them for forensic investigation. The exact circumstances and the motive of the act are still unclear, it said.
Parents and students who initially stand in clusters in the schoolyard in front of the combined elementary and high school are stunned immediately after the crime. A mother holds her second grade boy by the hand. When she found out about it, she drove off immediately. “I just wanted to get my little one,” she says. “We know a lot, I want to make sure everyone is safe.” When she arrived she found “everything full of firefighters, all full of police”. Many parents informed each other, reports the mother of a seventh grader. Some children were “totally dissolved”.
First rumors made the rounds, then police spokesman Maximilian Funke gave details on site: “On Wednesday morning there was a knife attack here in an elementary school in Bischofswerda.” Accordingly, the 16-year-old had attacked and attacked the eight-year-old with a knife. Both were seriously injured and two rescue helicopters were deployed. Police officers were able to arrest the youth. The police speak of a killing spree. According to the police, the condition of the injured third grader is stable, according to dpa information he was injured in the neck and head. The teenager is also receiving medical treatment.
Saxony’s Minister of Education, Christian Piwarz (CDU), was concerned after the knife attack. “Our thoughts are with the injured child and the school community,” said the CDU politician. There will be no normal classes in Bischofswerda on Thursday. “The children can stay at home or go to school,” said a ministry spokesman. The school will ensure that every child is caught and cared for. The CDU district administrator for the district of Bautzen, Udo Witschas, is also appalled. “Bewildered is not a word that suffices to describe my feelings about the situation in Bischofswerda.”
Teachers, parents and children in shock
According to the police, students and teachers were on site during the crime. A crisis intervention team was ready to help. A total of 53 students, two young people, three teachers and 53 parents were cared for by the afternoon. The headmistress had already gathered the staff in the schoolyard that morning, and they didn’t want to answer questions from journalists. The shock seemed too fresh so soon after the fact.
The school itself is prepared for such situations, said police spokesman Funke. In such a case, one speaks of “life-threatening situations”. In this case, the classrooms would be locked: “One assumes the worst.” “Each school has its own alarm system that is being tested and checked,” reports the Ministry of Education. In addition to training on threatening and amok situations, the school authorities would be made aware of the subject.