Two Fatalities in Domestic Violence Incident at German School Near Berlin

Sun Sep 06 2026 03:31:17 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A 19‑year‑old man arrested after a domestic‑violence incident at a private school near Berlin kills an 18‑year‑old student and a 30‑year‑old bystander.

Police arrested a 19‑year‑old suspect after a domestic‑violence incident at the private Docemus school in Gosen‑Neu Zittau near Berlin killed an 18‑year‑old student and a 30‑year‑old man who tried to intervene. Speaker Ulrike Liedtke described the act as a "cowardly femicide" and state premier Dietmar Woidke called it an "unimaginable act of violence." The school has paused classes, offering a safe space for students to process the tragedy while investigations continue.

Two people have died in a domestic‑violence incident at the private Docemus school in Gosen‑Neu Zittau, a town southeast of Berlin, police confirmed today.

Brandenburg state police arrested a 19‑year‑old German man, identified as the prime suspect, amid a scene that police say was not a mass shooting but involved an undisclosed weapon.

The victims were an 18‑year‑old secondary‑school female student and a 30‑year‑old man who lost his life when he attempted to intervene. Local media report that the suspect was the former boy‑friend of the student.

The fact that we once again had to witness deadly violence against a woman fills me with deep sorrow and anger, Ulrike Liedtke, the speaker of Brandenburg's regional parliament, said. I am shaken that a citizen who showed moral courage and wanted to help also lost his life in this terrible act, she added.

State premier Dietmar Woidke described the incident as an unimaginable act of violence.

Michael Kunz, the school's managing director, announced that classes would be cancelled on Friday. Although there will be no regular classes, the school will remain open for all students who wish to come, he told the press. We want to provide a safe space where students can come together, talk to each other, and process what has happened, Kunz said.

Authorities are continuing their investigation while the school considers how to resume normal operations in the coming days. A separate school attack earlier this month in southern Germany left two girls seriously wounded and resulted in the arrest of a 16‑year‑old suspect.