15-year-old killed - Attack on students - verdict in murder trial expected
At a school in Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg, fear and horror prevailed on a November day. A 15-year-old student was injured in a shooting incident and later died. Today, the local court is set to announce judgment against the alleged shooter. The now 16-year-old defendant's trial is being held in absentia for murder and attempted murder charges.
The judgment, according to a court spokesperson, will not be made public. The reason for the restriction, she stated, is the defendant's age. The violent death of the student in a classroom at the Waldbach special needs school caused mourning and shock beyond the region.
The defendant is alleged to have shot at a classmate with a pistol on November 9th of the previous year. The victim died in the hospital. The suspect had 41 rounds of ammunition with him. The weapon used for the crime is said to have come from the defendants' parents' household. Additionally, the suspect is said to have attempted to ignite a Molotov cocktail in his own classroom and in the school stairwell, but this failed.
If convicted, the defendant, according to earlier statements by the prosecution, faces a youth sentence of between six months and ten years. In Germany, minors are criminally responsible from the age of 14. The trial before the Youth Chamber of the Court has been ongoing since mid-April, with twelve trial days in total. The defendant is reportedly in pre-trial detention.
Alleged shooter overpowered at the school
A motive for the violence was not clear at the time - rumors circulated about jealousy. A father, who was at the school for a parent-teacher conference during the attack, overpowered the alleged shooter and prevented further harm. Sabah Tamer Ayoub was later honored for his heroic actions.
Parents also charged
The Offenburger Public Prosecutor's Office has also charged the parents of the alleged shooter. They are accused, according to a statement from mid-month, of negligent homicide and violations of the Firearms Act. The pistol used by their son was found to be unlawfully in their possession and not adequately secured, allowing the alleged shooter to gain access to it - this is the accusation of the prosecution. The Great Criminal Chamber of the Regional Court must still decide whether to open a main proceeding.
In the Southwest, the number of school violence incidents increased last year. According to the Interior Ministry, 2,545 such offenses against students and teachers were recorded in the previous year - a 13.5% increase from the previous year. Most offenses are violent crimes: around 52% involve intentional bodily harm and approximately 16% involve grievous bodily harm.
- The alleged shooter's criminality extended beyond the murder and attempted murder charges, as he was also accused of attempting to ignite Molotov cocktails.
- The Judge advocate in Baden-Württemberg will announce judgment against the defendant in the absence of the 16-year-old accused, who is currently in pre-trial detention for the November Day school shooting in Offenburg.
- The public prosecutor's office in Offenburg is also pursuing charges against the defendant's parents, accusing them of negligent homicide and violations of the Firearms Act due to the unlawful possession and inadequate securing of the weapon used in the crime.
- Despite the increasing number of school violence incidents in Germany, the specific motive behind the shooting incident at the Waldbach special needs school in Offenburg remains unclear.
- The failure to secure the firearm properly in the defendants' household and allow their child access to it has significantly contributed to the tragic events that unfolded on that November day in Offenburg, Germany.
