Germany migrant killing shocks Bavaria
In Bavaria, police shot dead a suspect in the killing of a teenager. The boy’s body was found in an abandoned building. On Saturday, a 14-year-old boy left home and disappeared. On Monday, his body was found. A post-mortem examination confirmed signs of violence, investigators said.
That same evening, police shot the suspect in the centre of town. He was a migrant from the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to the government of Swabia, he had previously been denied asylum, but the authorities did not deport him.
The suspect had twice been sentenced to fines: once for property damage in 2021, and again in 2026 for unauthorised residence without a passport. Prosecutors say his nationality remains unclear. The story that shook southern Germany unfolded quickly.
How the body was found
On Monday morning, police and investigators searched an abandoned building near the railway station in Memmingen. There they found the body of the missing teenager. A forensic examination later confirmed, prosecutors said, that the boy had died a violent death. But something else happened in the same building. Police found a man hiding in a wardrobe.
Attack and escape
Police in Kempten and prosecutors in Memmingen later said the man had no intention of surrendering. When he saw the officers, he rushed at them with a knife and managed to escape. Fortunately, none of the officers was injured at that point.
That evening, police received a call. Witnesses reported that the suspect was near a swimming pool on Wielandstraße.
Five plainclothes officers approached the man, who was sitting on the steps. He recognised them and ran. A short chase followed. Then he suddenly turned around.
According to police, the man quickly moved towards the officers with a knife in his hand. They shouted at him and ordered him to drop the weapon. He did not comply.
Officers opened fire. The man was hit several times. But even after being shot, police said, he still refused to release the knife. Officers had to knock the weapon away using a shield. Only then was the wounded man taken to hospital. He later died there.
What officials say
A joint statement issued on Tuesday by Kempten police and the Memmingen prosecutor’s office said: “Despite repeated orders to stop and drop the knife, the suspect continued to approach officers. Police used their service weapons.”
The suspect’s identity was later confirmed. He was a 37-year-old man, born in the West Bank, with previous convictions. Why he attacked police remains unclear. Some sources mention that his asylum claim has been rejected due to a lack of travel documents recently. Our outlet has already published articles investigating the problems caused by illegal migration in Europe.
Who will investigate the shooting?
The case will now be handled by higher-level authorities rather than local investigators. The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office has taken over the investigation into all circumstances surrounding the use of firearms.
That is standard procedure. Whenever police open fire and a person dies, independent investigators are brought in. The area near the swimming pool was cordoned off. The officers who fired at the suspect will have to give statements.
Residents of Memmingen are shocked. The boy was only 14. He left home on Saturday evening and never returned. Volunteers and police searched for him for two days. Then they found him dead in an abandoned building near the station.
Why was the teenager in that building? Did he know the killer? The investigation has only just begun. There are still no answers.
What is known so far
- The tragedy unfolded over 48 hours.
- The boy disappeared on Saturday and was found dead on Monday morning. On Monday evening, police shot the suspect near a swimming pool in central Memmingen.
- The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office is investigating whether the use of firearms was lawful.
- There is still no official version of the killer’s motive. What is known is that the 37-year-old man attacked police with a knife twice: first in the abandoned building, then on the street. The second attack ended in his death.
