Police arrest 21-year-old for stabbing attack on children in Duisburg

DPA
·2 min read
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A police vehicle is parked in front of the school about 300 meters from the crime scene, where the children had fled after the attack. Christoph Reichwein/dpa
A police vehicle is parked in front of the school about 300 meters from the crime scene, where the children had fled after the attack. Christoph Reichwein/dpa

Two children were attacked by a 21-year-old man with a knife and a flashlight near a school in Duisburg in western Germany on Wednesday, according to the police.

The police arrested the man nearby shortly after the attack. The man's motives for the attack remain unclear so far.

According to the police, the arrested person is a German-Bulgarian man.

After the attack occurred around 12 pm (1100 GMT) in broad daylight, the boy and a girl were able to escape to a Catholic primary school two blocks away. There, a teacher came to their aid, the police reported. Both of the children were then taken to hospital.

The ages of the children were estimated between nine and 14.

The public prosecutor's office in Duisburg said it would not comment on the case until Thursday.

A few hours after the attack, forensics began their work at the crime scene, with blood spread throughout the neighbourhood's pavement. Officers in white protective suits examined the street and the surrounding area, a dpa reporter said.

Many parents gathered at the school expressed their concern since just last Thursday, there was a stabbing attack on pupils at a school in Wuppertal, also located in North Rhine Westphalia state.

Seven pupils and the 17-year-old suspected perpetrator were injured in the attack, which the authorities categorized as an assault.

According to the investigators, the pupil suddenly attacked several classmates with a knife during a break and then allegedly inflicted serious injuries on himself before a teacher was able to persuade him to stop.

According to the police and the public prosecutor's office, there are indications that the 17-year-old has a mental illness.

Forensics officers stand at the scene of the attack on two children, a few meters away from a school. In a small parking lot, the police have stretched flutter tape and cordoned everything off. Christoph Reichwein/dpa
Forensics officers stand at the scene of the attack on two children, a few meters away from a school. In a small parking lot, the police have stretched flutter tape and cordoned everything off. Christoph Reichwein/dpa