After the violent death of a 14-year-old at a school center in Lower Franconia, an arrest warrant was issued on Saturday against a young person of the same age. The suspect is now in a correctional facility, a police spokesman said on Saturday afternoon. The 14-year-old is said to have shot his classmate on Friday afternoon on the grounds of his school in Lohr am Main.
The suspected weapon, a firearm, was discovered in the suspect’s apartment. According to police spokesman Enrico Ball, the teenager told investigators that the murder weapon was hidden there. But he did not confess to the crime itself.
A police patrol found the lifeless 14-year-old teenager with external injuries in a small green area next to the school center on Friday afternoon. Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful; an emergency doctor could only determine death.
Tatort is a popular meeting place for young people
Previously, another young person had come to the Lohr police station and reported that a friend of his had killed a young person on the grounds of the school center. The suspected 14-year-old was arrested around 6 p.m.
Lohr am Main lies between Würzburg and Aschaffenburg and has around 15,000 inhabitants. All three young people are said to have attended the local middle school together. The school center also houses a high school and a special needs school. There is also a sports field and a basketball court as well as a green area with a park bench, trees and bushes, and there is a fast food restaurant nearby. The green area will also be a popular meeting place for young people outside of school hours. In Bavaria, school doesn’t start again until next Tuesday after the long summer holidays.
Due to his age, the suspected young person is of criminal responsibility. Criminal responsibility begins on the person’s 14th birthday. The motive of the suspected shooter was initially unknown. It was also unclear where he got the weapon from. “The investigation is in full swing,” said Ball. “That is also a crucial question for us, to know how a 14-year-old could come into possession of a firearm.”
On Saturday, the police again cordoned off the area of the crime scene around the school center in Lohr in order to secure evidence there. The previous day, forensics work continued on site until late at night.
Violent acts by children are increasing
After the victim was discovered, investigators initially had no clear evidence of the murder weapon. On Saturday night, a witness reported that she may have heard a gunshot from around the school grounds between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday. The police then specifically searched for a firearm. The autopsy at the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Würzburg also revealed that the victim had died of a gunshot wound.
In recent months, acts of violence by children in Germany have made headlines several times. Only a few days ago it became known that an 11-year-old boy was said to be responsible for the violent death of a 10-year-old girl in a children’s home in Wunsiedel, also in Franconia. According to the investigation, he strangled the girl after an argument.
In March, two 12 and 13 year old girls confessed to stabbing 12 year old Luisa in Freudenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia. Both are also not yet of criminal responsibility.
