Murder at German School Teacher Killed in Revenge for Bad Grades
At first, it looked as though a German school had once again been the scene of a bloody shooting. But when police descended on a technical school in the German city of Ludwigshafen, they found the aftermath of what appears to have been an act of misguided revenge.
Photo Gallery: Violence at a German School
A 23-year-old man was arrested on Thursday morning after stabbing a former teacher to death. "During interrogation, the young man said he was full of rage at the teacher because he had given him poor grades," said public prosecutor Lothar Liebig at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Early news reports indicated that more than one teacher had been attacked. The school was quickly evacuated and dozens of police rushed to secure the school. They were able to quickly apprehend the attacker, who did not resist arrest.
The assailant's 58-year-old victim, a teacher of painting and varnishing, died soon after being stabbed in a school staircase. Prior to the stabbing, the attacker had fired numerous shots from a gun loaded with blanks. He also lit off a flare, which set off the fire alarm. Many students said they thought the fire alarm was merely a drill.
Police were on the scene only minutes after the initial alarm. After being cornered by police on the third floor, the assailant dropped his weapon and was taken into custody.
Some 3,200 students attend the technical school Ludwigshafen in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Television footage showed groups of young people clustered outside buildings that had been cordoned off by police. According to police reports, nobody else was injured in the attack.
The attack comes less than a year after the notorious school shooting spree in the German town of Winnenden last March, which saw a 17-year-old shoot 15 people before killing himself, sparking a national debate about how to improve school safety.
