As reported, the 20-year-old with an Italian passport and Moroccan roots, was taken in by police in connection with the death of 17 year-old Niklas P. The judge issued an arrest warrant for manslaughter. The suspect, who was already known to police for committing violent acts, denied involvement in the crime but got tangled in a web of contradictions when police took him in for questioning. His alibi also proved false. As well, he was positively identified in a photo by a witness. Two other suspects were taken in and released when accusations against them did not pan out.

Mayor Ashok Sridharan has called for a roundtable discussion at the end of the month to discuss youth violence and prevention. Jessica Rosenthal of the Bonn Social Democratic Party (SPD) criticized the the roundtable for not including youth, “We cannot be allowed to talk about them, we must speak with them.” In response, city spokesperson Monika Hörig said “The composition of the roundtable has not yet been completely determined. It is planned to have representatives of the city, schools, churches, police and youth workers, but youth will definitely be invited as well.”

Some parents of Paul-Klee elementary students and Clara-Fey secondary school said they were surprised that there had not been any discussions about the death of Niklas in their children’s schools since they were near the area where the fatal beating happened. Both schools responded, however that there had been numerous and regular discussions. Petra Römer, director of the Paul-Klee school said they were bringing in external trainers from the police to show kids what to do in these kinds of situations. She said, “We want to strengthen our kids instead of stoking their fears.”

(Orig. text: Ayla Jacob, Joshua Bung)