Little Luis (11) barely survived this attack: A 58-year-old attacked the student with a knife in the pedestrian zone and cut him across the neck.
The court is now even dealing with murder.
Munich - His scars will remain: on the throat, from the neck to the ear, on the shoulder and on the hands.
But eleven-year-old Luis can be happy that he is still alive.
A mentally ill man attacked the boy with a knife in November 2021.
Gennady S. (58) is now on trial for attempted murder.
His lawyer Christian Gerber says: "My client is sorry for the act." He stopped taking important medication without consulting the doctor and felt persecuted.
In the delusion, the accused sought his victim - and saw Luis playing on the escalator in the TK Maxx department store in the pedestrian zone.
"Quietly and unnoticed," according to witnesses, Gennady S. approached the boy from behind and put his left arm around his neck.
With his right he put the blade to his throat and slashed hard three times.
Passers-by intervened, Luis barely survived.
"I squeezed the wounds.
His blood ran between my fingers,” says his mother.
"I thought he was dying and I cried: Luis, please stay with me - to keep him awake."
Munich: knife attack on students in the pedestrian zone – "There was blood everywhere"
That succeeded.
But at first the mother believed her boy had injured himself on the escalator.
It was only later that she found out about the stabber.
"There was blood all over the floor," she recalls.
“On the neck I discovered that there were three wounds.
Luis sat in front of me, I supported him," says her mother.
She made a brave appearance at the district court, but was also vulnerable: "It was the worst moment of our lives." Together, the family underwent psychotherapy in order to be able to cope with what had happened.
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This way: A constable leads Gennadij S. (58) to the dock in the district court
© Photo: Jantz
Luis goes back to school, but his body and soul are traumatized.
To this day, he still cannot move his hands properly.
It is the aftermath of the defensive movements with which the eleven-year-old wanted to protect his life.
He has had three surgeries since the crime.
Another operation could follow because of the scars.
"He bears it bravely," says his mother.
"Luis hasn't lost his laughter."
Gennadij S., on the other hand, seems stoic, he lacks any insight into the illness.
He will probably be permanently housed in a psychiatric ward.
The verdict is expected to fall on November 17th.
Until then, there will be another eight days of hearings at the circuit court.