Status: 09.11.2023, 17:43 PM
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Large-scale police operation in Offenburg. © Christina Häußler/Einsatz-Report24/dpa
A teenager has been killed with a firearm at a school in southwestern Germany. A classmate is said to have committed the crime. He is accused of manslaughter.
Offenburg - After the gun attack at a school in Offenburg, Baden, a student has died of his serious injuries. This was announced jointly by the police and the public prosecutor's office on Thursday evening.
The suspect was arrested, as the police had previously announced. The minor, a German, is being forensically examined. The motive for the attack is likely to be personal. He is to be brought before the competent investigating judge on Thursday. An arrest warrant for manslaughter should be issued, it said in a statement.
As police and prosecutors reported, the suspect was held by a man until the police arrived. The young man had entered a classroom and fired at least one shot from a handgun at his classmate of the same age. "As a result, he suffered the most serious injuries," the statement said.
According to the police, the school was largely cordoned off, it is located in the Nordstadt of the municipality in the Ortenau district. The officers spoke of a large-scale operation, according to police circles, a special task force (SEK) was also involved. Support also came from other precincts and police headquarters in the region. There is no explicit mention of a rampage, said a police spokesman.
Residents reported helicopters circling over the area for hours. Sirens of emergency vehicles wailed, there was a roadblock on a major traffic axis. Offenburg, with around 62,000 inhabitants, is an important transport and economic centre in the region, but life is otherwise rather tranquil.
Around 180 students initially had to stay in the classrooms, but were later able to leave them. The young people were initially cared for by specialist staff, but were then able to return to their parents, the police reported.
According to its own statements, the Waldbachschule is a special education and counselling centre with a focus on learning. Students are taught in 15 classes. Dpa