A 16-year-old is suspected of planning attacks on two schools. Weapons and bombs are said to have been found during a raid. A right-wing extremist background is indicated.
The police are standing in front of the Don-Bosco-Gymnasium in Essen. A student is said to have planned a bomb attack on the facility.
granny. The police in Essen (North Rhine-Westphalia) apparently prevented a bomb attack on two schools in the city. The suspect is a 16-year-old student at the church Don Bosco High School, the police said on Thursday via the online service Twitter.
The police had previously received indications that a student with German citizenship could have planned a criminal offense at his or his former school (Realschule am Schloss Borbeck). According to WDR information, the 16-year-old threatened his classmates that they would all die soon. A classmate then went to the police on Wednesday. Police raided the suspect’s home early Thursday morning.
Manifesto found with xenophobic content
Both schools are closed, a large police operation is underway. The boy was a student at secondary school, but recently switched to high school, according to WDR. So both schools are affected. The searches of the apartment and the schools are still ongoing. A sniffer dog trained to detect explosives is involved in the operation. The police want to rule out that the student has already deposited dangerous material in the schools.
We can confirm that the suspect is a 16-year-old German student at the Don Bosco High School. #Police operation #Borbeck
— Police NRW E (@Polizei_NRW_E) May 12, 2022
According to Bild.de, several pipe bombs, a nail bomb, several crossbows and a homemade weapon were found in the student’s apartment. The 16-year-old apparently planned a killing spree, according to the “Bild”. When asked by the NZZ, the police did not want to confirm this.
The newspaper also claims to have learned that the alleged perpetrator belongs to the extreme right-wing spectrum. During the searches, a manifesto is said to have been found that clearly indicated this. It was written down xenophobic ideas. The police would not confirm this either. The alleged perpetrator is currently being questioned.
Several acts of violence shortly before state elections
A man was shot on the street in the city on Tuesday. The perpetrator was able to flee in a car with foreign license plates. The background to the fact is unclear, the investigations are currently going in all directions. The week before, several participants were injured in a shootout between rockers and clan members in nearby Duisburg.
On Sunday, a new state parliament will be elected in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. With the series of serious incidents, the topic of internal security is likely to receive even greater attention in the election campaign. Christian Democrat incumbent Hendrik Wüst is currently just ahead of his Social Democrat challenger Thomas Kutschaty.