Police in the western German city of Essen took a suspect into custody on Friday, September 5th, after a teacher was stabbed at a vocational college. Authorities confirmed they no longer considered the situation to be dangerous.
The attack took place at the school earlier in the day. The victim, a female educator, was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery. No further details about her condition have been released.
According to police, the suspect fled the scene following the stabbing. Special police units were deployed to the college as the search unfolded. The suspect was later located near Essen’s central train station, where officers “used firearms in the arrest, during which the suspect was injured.” He is now receiving medical treatment.
German news agency dpa reported that the suspect is believed to be an 18-year-old (initial reports said 17) student who studied at the school where the stabbing took place. Authorities said they are “absolutely certain” that he is the attacker.
Earlier reports suspected that there were other people who had been injured in the incident, but police have not confirmed any additional victims. The motive for the attack is unclear at this stage.
Whatever the motive behind the attack was, the incident highlights a serious issue in Germany. Knife crime is rampant in the country, with news of stabbings circulating in the media almost every day. Earlier in June, multiple stabbings happened across Germany just over one weekend, with no apparent links to each other. The sad truth is many of the perpetrators should never have been in the country in the first place, as illegal immigrants overstaying their asylum period in Germany who should have been deported before committing violent crimes.
AfD co-chair Alice Weidel reacted to the attack on X, highlighting that “another knife attack” had occurred, and pointing out that the stabbing happend in “a state governmed by the CDU.”
After his election as Chancellor, Friedrich Merz vowed to crack down on illegal migration when an asylum seeker stabbed a 2-year-old toddler and a 41-year-old man. The killing sparked outrage amongst Germans, fearing for their communities.
Integration is clearly not working, with immigrants arriving from countries where the value of life and the authority of institutions are not axiomatic, and often having no intention of accepting the laws of the host country.
It is no wonder more and more voters are turning to the right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, the only political force that does not shy away from exposing the grim reality Germans live in as a result of mass immigration.
