A man is said to have seriously injured two children in Duisburg-Marxloh on Wednesday. The suspect will be brought before a judge on Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder.
After the attack, the children are said to have escaped to a nearby school. The two nine and ten year olds are currently being treated in hospitals, the Duisburg police said on Wednesday. “It’s an eight to ten minute walk between the crime scene and the school. The police were called from there,” said a spokeswoman.
21-year-old arrested – murder weapon seized
Police have arrested a 21-year-old German-Bulgarian who is suspected of attacking the students. There was no danger to the population, said the Duisburg police. It is assumed that there was a lone perpetrator. He is due to appear before the judge on Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder.
Both children are out of danger
The two children are a boy and a girl who are nine and ten years old. According to doctors, one of the children’s injuries were serious but not life-threatening. The second child’s life is also not in danger. The teacher who first came to the children’s aid is looked after by an emergency pastor.
Parents gathered at school – school psychologists on site
The area around the alleged crime scene was cordoned off on Wednesday and forensics employees arrived there in the afternoon. The police also use a drone. The exact background to the crime remains unclear; investigations are ongoing. The public prosecutor’s office wants to comment further on the crime on Thursday.
Investigators secure traces at the crime scene in Duisburg.
A number of concerned parents gathered at the school, which is two blocks away from the crime scene, on Wednesday afternoon. In the coming days, the school will be closely supported by the school supervision and school psychology with offers of discussion and support. North Rhine-Westphalia Schools Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) was shocked that “two children became victims of an act of violence on their way to school.”
Just last Thursday there was an attack at a school in Wuppertal, which the authorities classified as an amok. Four students and the 17-year-old alleged perpetrator were injured.
Our sources:
- Duisburg police
- dpa news agency
- WDR reporter on site