At the end of 2022, two schoolgirls fell victim to a knife attack in Illerkirchberg. Even today, the mayor speaks of a nightmare. A nightmare that is now coming to court.
Construction fences stand where a violent act took place in Illerkirchberg that shook all of Germany. Three painted construction fences mark the spot where a 14-year-old lost her life with a knife and her 13-year-old friend was seriously injured.
The trial against the alleged perpetrator begins on Friday (June 2nd). He is accused of murder and attempted murder in the Ulm district court. The tranquil community in the Alb-Donau-Kreis does not come to rest almost six months after the bloody attack on the two schoolgirls.
A lot was left behind, reports Mayor Markus Häußler (independent). “For almost two months we did almost nothing but deal with the consequences of this terrible act,” he said. Media inquiries would have flooded the 5000-inhabitant community. His small town hall team organized a public dialogue in January, and the public’s need to speak was enormous shortly after the crime. His job as mayor has changed.
review
Illerkirchberg on December 5, 2022: The two students are on their way to the bus when they are seriously injured with a knife. The alleged perpetrator is a 27-year-old refugee from Eritrea who was arrested shortly after the crime. The crime takes place in front of the refugee shelter. The 14-year-old succumbed to her injuries in hospital.
The mayor is sitting in the town hall at this time. “The police called the public order office in the morning – but the operation was already underway,” he recalls. “My head of the regulatory office informed me immediately. I then drove straight to the scene,” he says.
desire for security
This day left deep marks in Illerkirchberg. There is still a great sadness to be felt. “When you talk to people about it, they usually look down at least once. And that’s exactly the mood,” says the mayor.
“We’re still working on it,” emphasizes the 37-year-old. Specifically, people would have liked the street lighting to be switched on again at the scene of the crime. “It was switched off for a few hours at night to save energy.” To counteract the feeling of insecurity, the lights are on again.
The crime scene is between a playground and the school. It can be seen from the street – a square with a local presence. Schoolchildren, residents, parents – many people are out and about there every day, says Häußler. At the time of the crime, there were three outdated houses that served as accommodation for 20 refugees. The alleged perpetrator also lived in it at the time. The candles, flowers and teddy bears that marked the crime scene are gone.
In the wrong place at the wrong time
According to the indictment, the suspect was not actually after the girls. He is said to have been on his way to the district office of the Alb-Donau district in Ulm to extort identity documents with a knife.
According to the indictment, he attacked the girlfriends because he assumed that the two had seen the knife. “The unbearable thing about it is just this coincidence: in the wrong place at the wrong time,” says Häußler.
The father of the dead spoke out in favor of demolishing the houses and putting a playground or playing field in that place. In April the excavator rolled on. How the square is designed is taken care of by the citizens and the municipal council, explains Häußler. A meadow will be sown temporarily. “In the future, something beautiful should be created there.”
It is not generalized
The act of violence had no effect on refugee aid, says Häußler. “We still have a very committed group of helpers.” And even shortly after the fact, the people in the place stood in the way of political instrumentalization with a silent protest. “I’m very proud of that.”
The parents of the two girls had written letters calling for the crime not to be used for hate speech. Many politicians agreed. But there was also criticism of German asylum policy. This came to a head when it came out that a refugee who had been convicted of raping had to be accommodated in the community again in the meantime.
After the crime, a lot of educational work had to be done on the general security situation, fears were talked about and taken seriously, said Häußler. A self-protection seminar was subsidized, for example. “It’s understandable that people are afraid – we tried to react to that.” The situation is very stressful for everyone.
The heads of town hall also saw a need to speak in the neighboring towns. “The public’s displeasure with the current administrative framework is becoming apparent,” says the mayor of Staig, Martin Jung (independent). The municipality with around 3000 inhabitants is located next to Illerkirchberg. In the city of Blaustein, which has around 16,000 inhabitants, the city reacted at the beginning of the year with a citizens’ dialogue to discuss questions about the accommodation of refugees.
process becomes tough
Illerkirchberg’s Mayor Häußler does not want to say how the contact with the parents of the two girls looks like. He wants to protect the family’s privacy. He will not be present at the process. “I trust in the rule of law, which will demonstrate its ability to function in this process.”
He looks at the start of the process with mixed feelings: “All the memories and emotions will surely come up again,” said the politician. “And of course that will be a tough road for everyone involved and for everyone affected.”
Everyone has their own strategy for dealing with what happened. “But I think there was one basic requirement in everything and that is rest.” And that’s what the mayor wants for a community in the future, so that a fearless life is possible again. Even if the act itself will probably never be forgotten.