After an attack with a firearm in a school in Offenburg, Baden, a boy who was shot died from his injuries. The police and public prosecutor’s office announced this in a press release. The suspected 15-year-old teenager was arrested. The investigators are currently assuming a possible personal motive for the crime. An arrest warrant was issued against the alleged perpetrator and he is in custody.
“What is known so far about the facts is that the minor entered a classroom and specifically approached his classmate of the same age who was sitting there and fired at least one shot from a handgun. As a result, he suffered the most serious injuries,” the statement says about the events.
According to police, a witness held the suspect until emergency services arrived. They said they reached the scene a few minutes after the emergency calls and immediately entered the building.
In total, the police were on site with more than 300 emergency services. According to police circles, a special operations team (SEK) was also there. A police spokesman said there was no explicit mention of an attack. While the school was searched, the approximately 180 students initially stayed in the classrooms before they could go to their families. The authorities provided psychological support.
Not the first police operation at a German school this week
Residents reported helicopters circling over the area for hours. Sirens from emergency vehicles wailed and there was a roadblock on an important traffic artery. Offenburg, with around 62,000 inhabitants, is an important transport and economic center in the region, but life is otherwise rather tranquil.
According to its own information, the Waldbachschule is a special education and advisory center with a focus on learning. Pupils are taught in 15 classes.
“The police quickly caught the suspected perpetrator and are urgently investigating the background to the crime,” explained Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) in Stuttgart. It is assumed that the perpetrator was an individual. The police currently have no indication of a political background to the crime. According to dpa information, the alleged perpetrator is said to have had more ammunition than he fired.
It was not the first police operation at a German school this week. On Wednesday the police searched a school in Hamburg Blankenese. A teacher there was threatened with a weapon by students. Four teenagers between the ages of 12 and 14 were provisionally arrested on Wednesday and two suspected toy weapons were seized. On Thursday, police arrested a fifth child and found another toy gun.