Germany: Asylum-seeker arrested after schoolgirl killed in knife attack
A suspect from a refugee shelter in Germany was arrested for allegedly killing a 14-year-old girl in a knife attack and seriously injuring another 13-year-old girl. The crime reportedly took place when the girls were walking to their school in Southern Germany’s Illerkirchberg on Monday.
The accused remains unnamed but has been limitedly identified as a 27-year-old asylum seeker from Eritrea.
Police say the suspect came out of a refugee shelter in the village of Illerkirchberg on Monday morning and attacked the girls. The older girl later died in hospital.
Officers searched a nearby building and found the accused with a knife they suspect was used in the attack. Two other men were also detained, DW News reported.
The suspect is under police guard in hospital where he is reportedly being treated for an unspecified injury.
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser said the “terrible news” had shaken her and hoped that the injured girl would recover.
“I mourn the girl who was killed and sincerely hope that the injured girl will recover. My thoughts are with their families at this time. The police are investigating all the backgrounds with high pressure,” Faeser wrote on Twitter.
In a statement, police urged the public not to use the incident to stoke suspicion of foreigners or asylum seekers. “Everything connected to this is completely unclear so far,” police spokesman Wolfgang Juergens told reporters.
The 13-year-old girl is recovering from her injuries, which are not life threatening, local media reported.
Illerkirchberg is a small town with a population of less than 5,000 according to the 2015 census. Mayor Markus Haeussler said everyone in the town was in shock after Monday’s knife attack.
