Two girls were seriously injured on Wednesday after an attack at the Welfen grammar school in Schongau, a town of roughly 12,000 people in Bavaria, southern Germany. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Police initially reported “several” people injured before later confirming that two girls had sustained serious injuries, though authorities said their lives are not in danger. A police spokeswoman told AFP the attacker appeared to have deliberately targeted the school in a suspected “rampage,” though she could not confirm reports that a knife was used.
The suspect was briefly on the run before being found and apprehended by police, with helicopters deployed as part of the search. One of the helicopters was reportedly used to transport the injured girls to hospital. A contact point for parents and relatives has been set up at the town’s fire station.
Police say they currently believe the perpetrator acted alone. Serious school violence remains rare in Germany, though the country has seen isolated incidents in recent years.
