A teenager stabbed an eight-year-old before setting himself on fire at a school in East Germany, police have said. A suspect was arrested and the victim rushed to hospital.
A school in Bischofswerda, East Saxony triggered their panic alarm, summoning officers, on Wednesday morning after a 16-year-old stabbed an eight-year-old male pupil in the head and neck with a knife, seriously injuring them. Compounding the shock of the event, the teen then set himself on fire.
The teen was arrested and per a report by regional television station Sachsen Fernsehen (Saxony Television) both youths are now receiving medical care. The eight-year-old victim was flown to a hospital by helicopter to receive urgent care and are now in stable condition. Newspaper Stern reports the motive for the attack and subsequent self immolation is presently unknown, and that both attacker and victim are German citizens.
The attack triggered a considerable emergency response with police cars and trucks, helicopters, and ambulances responding to the location. Stern states the alarm triggered a so-called ‘amokalarm’ (Beserker Alert) automatically locks all the doors in the school to protect pupils and staff from a roaming attacker.
23 August 2023, Saxony, Bischofswerda: Police vehicles are parked in the schoolyard of a primary and secondary school. An amok alarm has been triggered at the school in eastern Saxony. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa (Photo by Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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