POLICE were today investigating a motive behind the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl on her way to school in Germany in a case that made national headlines.

A 27-year-old asylum seeker from Eritrea was arrested in connection with the attack yesterday in Illerkirchberg, in the southern region of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The victim, a German girl with a Turkish family background, was revived at the scene but later died in hospital, police said.

A 13-year-old girl was also hurt in the incident but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

Police apprehended the suspect at “nearby asylum seekers’ accommodation”, they said.

The alleged aggressor was injured when he was stopped by police and was taken to receive medical treatment. He was currently being held in hospital under guard.

A judge will decide today whether the man will be “held in custody or taken into psychiatric care”, the state prosecutor’s office told AFP.

The motive behind the attack and the cause of the suspect’s own injuries are still unclear, investigators said.

The Turkish ambassador to Germany, Ahmet Basar Sen, was set to visit the scene of the crime today with the deputy premier of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Thomas Strobl, and the mayor of Illerkirchberg.

“I mourn the girl who was killed and sincerely hope that the injured girl will recover,” Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser posted on Twitter yesterday.

“The police are urgently investigating the background” of the attack, she said. – AFP, December 6, 2022.