After a man attacked two schoolgirls in Illerkirchberg, Baden-Württemberg, a 14-year-old victim succumbed to his severe injuries in hospital. A 13-year-old girl was seriously injured. Police arrested three asylum seekers from Eritrea, one of whom is believed to be the perpetrator.
The attack occurred on Monday morning at around 7.30 a.m. on a school path in the community of 5,000 inhabitants near Ulm. According to witnesses, the perpetrator came from a communal asylum shelter in Bucher Straße. He hit one of the girls for no reason and then rammed a knife into her stomach, as reported by German broadcaster SWR. He then stabbed the classmate.
Afterwards, the perpetrator fled back to the accommodation occupied by asylum seekers. “When the police searched the accommodation with special forces, they found three residents, all asylum seekers from Eritrea. They took two of them to the police station. The third was injured and had to undergo medical treatment,” the police said. “The 27-year-old, who was found injured in the accommodation, is suspected of having attacked the girls. The police also found a knife on him, which could be the murder weapon. The suspect is currently under police guard in a hospital.”
At the same time, in view of the girl’s death, the police appealed “not to raise any general suspicion against strangers, people seeking protection or asylum seekers in general, or to encourage or support such suspicion”.
Markus Häußler, the mayor of the village toldthe newspaper BILD: “The community is shocked. In the meantime, one of the girls has died. We are all deeply affected and mourn with the family.” To the newspaper JUNGE FREIHEIT, an acquaintance of the family of the dead said: “It’s all so horrible, the parents have been given sedatives, they are said to have been still guarding at her bedside in the clinic, but we all don’t know anything for sure yet.”