A 21-year-old who shot a staff member at a school in Bremerhaven with a crossbow has been sentenced to eight years in prison for attempted murder. The Bremen Regional Court also ordered his initially unlimited placement in a psychiatric clinic, as a court spokesman announced on Tuesday.
In May 2022, the man went heavily armed to his former school, the Lloyd Gymnasium, and shot the school secretary there. She was critically injured and only survived thanks to emergency surgery. The perpetrator then shot a passer-by on the street, but missed him.
The accused again denied any intent to kill on Monday. “I swear by everything I have,” he said. Instead of going to prison, he would rather go to forensic psychiatry because he hopes for successful treatment there. After a possible prison sentence without therapy, he fears becoming violent again: “I don’t feel like it.”
After his arrest, he was first held in custody and later transferred to a psychiatric ward. The trial against him before the district court began in November.
