After being tipped off about a “suspicious person,” the police searched a high school in Wuppertal and then gave the all-clear. “We no longer assume there is a risk,” said a police spokesman. The search of the school has been completed. The students were led out of the building and taken to waiting buses. There are no injuries.
A caller called the emergency number shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday and gave the information. There were severe traffic disruptions due to the police presence. “As usual after such information, we are on site with stronger forces to ensure security and check whether there is anything to it,” said a police spokesman. The area around Sedanstrasse in Wuppertal-Barmen should be avoided, the police advised. A police helicopter was in the air above the high school.
According to the website of the high school with around 700 students and 55 teachers, Abitur exams in biology, chemistry, physics and computer science were scheduled for Friday. The city of Wuppertal set up a contact point for relatives and emergency services in the immediate vicinity of the school in a residents’ registration office, a spokeswoman said. There are also several school psychologists on duty.
The search of the building complex has now been completed, a police spokeswoman said at midday. Security sources said they couldn’t find anything suspicious on site. Shortly afterwards, a dpa reporter observed that the students were led out of the building and taken to waiting buses.
Eight weeks ago there was an attack at another high school in Wuppertal. A 17-year-old high school student injured four classmates and himself with a knife in a break room. Three students suffered shock. The Wuppertal district court had issued an arrest warrant against the high school student for two counts of attempted murder and two counts of grievous bodily harm.
Just three days ago, a school in Düsseldorf was also searched following a tip-off about a suspicious person. As it later turned out, it was a student who had been handling an airsoft gun. He is now being investigated for violating the weapons law, it was said on Friday.
This post has been updated.
