It was a morning of horror for the community of Illerkirchberg. The village of 4,000 in the Alb-Donau district in southern Baden-Württemberg became the scene of the attack on two girls aged 13 and 14 who were on their way to school. Either to protect the victims’ and their families’ right to privacy or not to stoke tensions between the Germans and their fleeing guests, the police are very careful not to reveal any details of the incident, but according to local press reports, the two girls were walking to the bus stop that would take them to school when they were attacked by a grown man.
Word initially circulated that the man had injured her with a gun, but hours later the knife hypothesis prevailed. According to the first statements of the rescuers, the two students immediately appeared in critical condition, while the man who had hit them was immediately lost. In the early afternoon, the national media first spread the news of the bloody deed and shortly afterwards the sad confirmation: the 14-year-old died in hospital from her injuries.
By 7.30am, the police had already been alerted by eyewitnesses, but the seriousness of the incident prompted the authorities to request the intervention of the Special Operations Command (SEK), the special forces (tactical units) available to each of Germany’s 16 states. The perpetrator is said to have immediately sought shelter in a nearby house, a refugee accommodation. One of the region’s most popular newspapers, the Schwäbische Zeitung, wrote that the house is divided in two, with a family of seven on one side and four men on the other. The police did not say whether the alleged attacker lived in this house and therefore did not rule out that he was only trying to hide within these walls. In fact, however, the Seks surrounded the house and arrested three people, including the main suspect.
Police intervention was therefore limited to the crime scene and the nearby house – both locations were closed to the public – while the girls’ school was not involved. Investigators have not confirmed whether the assassin knew his victims. “The whole community is in shock,” said the 36-year-old mayor of Illerkirchberg, Markus Häußler, to the picture. One of the girls lost her life: we are all very saddened and mourn with the families».
Police maintained strict secrecy throughout the day and said they would provide more information over time.
“First of all, we have to determine the background precisely.” The news brought the images of the streets of Illerkirchberg, deeply disturbed by the total white of the suits of the forensic police officers involved in the surveys, by the red and white of the stripes used to prevent cars, cyclists or pedestrians from entering the crime scene to approach the crime, through the pink used as a signal, on the floor and on the wall near the bus stop, the bloodstains of the two victims, each stain with its number. The motive for attacking the girls was not disclosed.