According to the Bavarian Minister for Education and Cultural Affairs, Anna Stoltz, one of the wounded schoolgirls would likely not have survived the blood loss if her classmates had not rendered assistance immediately, without waiting for the arrival of doctors.
Those specific minutes—before professional medical personnel appeared on the scene—proved decisive for the outcome of the tragedy, according to authorities. A day after the incident, the small town in the Alpine foothills is gradually recovering, while the investigation reconstructs a detailed picture of the event and attempts to determine what drove the teenager to attack his own former classmates.
The Minister Thanked Students and Teachers
Anna Stoltz, representing the Free Voters party, personally visited the Welfen-Gymnasium to assure the teaching staff and students of the full support of the state authorities. She addressed special words of gratitude to the two teachers who subverted the attacker, and to the school children who immediately rushed to the aid of two severely wounded thirteen-year-old girls.
“One of the girls would most likely have died from blood loss if they had not done this. They essentially saved her life,” Stoltz told the dpa news agency, calling the students’ actions the deed of true heroes.
In addition to meeting with the schoolchildren, the minister held talks with the management of the grammar school, teachers, and parents of the victims. She admitted to being deeply shaken by what happened, adding that her thoughts are with the injured girls and their loved ones, to whom she wished a speedy recovery.
Support for the School to Continue into the New Academic Year
According to Stoltz, support from the authorities will not be limited to the coming days: guidance for the school community will continue throughout the entire next academic year, as processing the experience will require considerable time. This applies not only to the grammar school where the attack took place, but to all educational institutions located within the Schongau school complex.
A crisis management team is already deployed on site, primarily providing psychological assistance to students, teachers, and parents, many of whom are still unable to come to terms with the incident. If necessary, during the new school year, the schools in the complex will be allocated additional staff to support the children—this refers to both school psychologists and social pedagogues who will work with classes on a regular basis.
“We stand here as a unified school family together with teachers and students,” the minister emphasized, offering separate thanks to the rescue services and the school leadership for their professional and coordinated actions in a critical situation.
Suspect Brought Before an Examining Magistrate
On Thursday, the police released new details regarding the detainee. According to available information, the sixteen-year-old suspect was to be brought before an examining magistrate during the day to decide on a custodial measure—either detention or temporary placement in a specialized medical facility. This was reported by representatives of the Munich police and prosecution service.
The prosecution office is conducting an investigation on suspicion of attempted murder. As the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, reported the previous day, the teenager had previously undergone psychiatric treatment multiple times and was in a state of acute mental crisis at the moment of the attack. The investigation considers both wounded girls, whom he stabbed on the school grounds, to be random victims—no personal connection between the attacker and the victims has yet been established. According to available reports, proceedings had previously been conducted against the teenager for the passive endorsement of other offenses.
The town remains in a state of shock. “This is a black day for Schongau,” stated the town’s mayor, Thomas Schleich, adding that the town hall remains open to anyone needing support or simply an opportunity to speak.
How the Events Unfolded on Wednesday
The alarm at the Welfen-Gymnasium sounded at 12:50 on Wednesday afternoon—in the middle of a normal school day when most classes were in lessons. While schools possess action plans for such occurrences, when wounded people are on the floor and it becomes clear that this is a real attack rather than a drill, the situation inevitably breaks out of routine scenarios and demands instant decisions from everyone nearby. Within minutes, over a hundred police officers and emergency service personnel converged on the school complex on Dornauer Weg, which accommodates around 2,600 children.
According to initial investigative data, the sixteen-year-old teenager severely wounded at least two thirteen-year-old girls. He carried several knives and a firearm. The suspect fired one shot without hitting anyone, after which the weapon misfired—this was disclosed by Alexander Dobrindt, a prominent member of the Bundestag, who visited the scene on Wednesday evening, as Schongau lies within his constituency.
Both injured girls were taken to the hospital, one via an air ambulance helicopter. At present, their lives are no longer in danger.
Teenager Detained After 17 Minutes
The suspect was subverted near the grammar school building by teachers alongside arriving police officers, just 17 minutes after the attack. According to Dobrindt’s assessment, it was precisely this speed of reaction that prevented significantly more severe consequences.
In the first minutes following the alarm, several helicopters were in the air simultaneously, while dozens of police officers thoroughly searched the school building, fearing that the attacker might not have been acting alone. Shortly thereafter, an all-clear was issued: according to the investigation, the teenager carried out the attack alone.
The students, some of whom were in a state of shock, were guided in an organized manner to a assembly point near the fire station on Bahnhofstraße, where volunteers took care of them before they were gradually handed over to their parents. One thirteen-year-old schoolgirl later recalled the fear she experienced: “My legs buckled. I didn’t understand how to react at all—whether to call for help or to keep quiet.” Together with two friends, she chose the second option: “We just looked away and hoped he wouldn’t notice us.”
Schools Resume Operations
On Thursday, students nevertheless returned to the grammar school building. All educational institutions in the town—in addition to the grammar school, a primary school, a Realschule, and a Mittelschule operate within the complex—opened once again. At the same time, a representative of the district administration emphasized that a return to a normal daily routine is impossible in this case: crisis teams of psychologists will work continuously with students and educators to help them process what occurred.
Two and a half hours after the initial alarm, dozens of emergency workers continued to operate on site. Police cordoned off a vast area around the grey-and-yellow grammar school building, which normally welcomes around 800 students on a regular school day.
Inevitably, the question arose that always echoes after such attacks: what was the cause?
What Is Known About the Suspect
Details regarding the background or a possible motive for the attack remain scarce, but several facts about the suspect himself are known. The teenager had previously been a student at this grammar school, Minister Dobrindt reported. According to the head of the Bavarian Interior Ministry, Joachim Herrmann, the youth had periodically undergone psychiatric treatment in the past and was in a state of mental crisis at the time of the attack. Both injured girls appear to have been random victims who had no prior relationship with the attacker. It is also known that the teenager holds Croatian citizenship and resided with his parents.
The investigation is also verifying a potential connection between the incident and a prior threat directed at the school. According to media reports, an incident occurred at the grammar school shortly before Christmas, when a student allegedly threatened to carry out an attack—the police conducted an investigation at that time. The student was at least temporarily suspended from classes, and a preventative interview was conducted with him as a potentially dangerous individual. Minister Herrmann noted that the current sixteen-year-old suspect may have already attracted the attention of authorities due to past threats, though this information has yet to be thoroughly verified.
Reaction of the Bavarian Authorities
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also spoke about the incident on Wednesday afternoon. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the attack in Schongau,” he stated, emphasizing that such tragedies leave not only visible wounds but many invisible ones, and that healing the soul will take considerable time.
“In these difficult hours, we all stand together. The school community and the relatives of the victims now need time, strength, and support to cope with what has happened,” Söder added, thanking everyone who provided assistance on Wednesday, including the police and emergency services.
Parents Awaited News from Their Children
Late Wednesday evening, students and their parents remained at the assistance center, waiting for the opportunity to take their children home. One family shared that they were shaken by the sight of helicopters, flashing lights, and the news itself that something had occurred at their children’s school. According to the mother, she wept until she received the long-awaited message from her daughter: “Mom, I’m fine.”
The tragedy in Schongau has demonstrated once again how quickly an ordinary school day can change and how crucial the coordination of those nearby is during the first critical minutes. It was the decisiveness of teachers and students—and not solely the arrival speed of emergency services—that, in the assessment of authorities, became the deciding factor that prevented far more severe consequences. The town and the school community face a long road to recovery, and, as Bavarian officials emphasized, this support will not be withdrawn once the tragedy fades from the news agenda.
Source: dpa
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