Knife incidents are an "absolute exception" at Saxony's schools

Knife violence is not a growing problem in Saxony's schools. According to the Ministry of Education, knife attacks are the absolute exception. Occasionally, there are reports of pupils who have brought a knife to school and shown it to fellow pupils, according to the ministry. There are also rare cases of threats. In terms of regional distribution, however, no location stands out in particular.

One threat since the start of the school year

According to the information, there has been no increase in cases. There has been one incident so far in the current school year. On March 16, a secondary school student in Aue threatened his classmate with a knife. No one was injured.

A general ban on knives applies at schools in Saxony. According to the ministry, there are no special programs for dealing with knives, but numerous initiatives serve to prevent violence in general.

More knife attacks - including underage suspects

The number of knife attacks has risen in recent years. According to police crime statistics, there were around 1,400 cases in Saxony last year - an increase of 20% compared to 2020. Almost a third of the suspects were children, young people or adolescents.

Life-threatening attack in Berlin

A life-threatening knife attack recently took place at an elementary school in Berlin. A 13-year-old is said to have stabbed a fellow pupil there. The twelve-year-old was critically injured and underwent surgery in hospital. The 13-year-old suspect is not facing any punishment due to his young age. Nevertheless, the police are investigating, but the background to the attack is still unknown.