A former vocational school pupil is standing trial in Essen accused of carrying out a series of Islamist-motivated knife attacks and attempting to murder Jewish people. The defendant, now 18, is being tried in the high-security section of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged him with three counts of attempted murder, dangerous bodily harm, resistance to law enforcement officers, and coercion. Prosecutors allege that on 5 September 2025, he stabbed his 45-year-old teacher multiple times, leaving her in a life-threatening condition. Her legal representative told the court that she is still suffering from the consequences of the attack.
He is also accused of attacking a caretaker at a primary school and a homeless man at a bus stop. According to prosecutors, none of the victims were killed due to resistance or circumstance, although they sustained serious injuries.
Prosecutors further allege that the attacks formed part of a broader plan. The defendant reportedly sought to kill as many Jewish people as possible, but was unable to find any when he twice went to the Old Synagogue in Essen while searching for potential victims.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office described the case as Islamist-motivated, stating that the then 17-year-old acted as a committed Islamist “against perceived non-believers”. Investigators said digital evidence, including videos allegedly produced by the suspect, supported the conclusion of an Islamist ideological motive.
Following the attacks, federal prosecutors took over the investigation within a week, citing indications that the acts were driven by “a radical Islamist conviction directed against Germany’s liberal democratic order”.
Authorities also allege that, in an apparent attempt to provoke his own death as a “martyr”, the suspect later approached police in a park near Essen Central Station while armed with a knife. He was shot by officers and sustained facial injuries, requiring surgery and intensive care treatment.
Due to his age at the time of the offences, the court ordered the remainder of the proceedings, including the verdict, to be held behind closed doors. Thirteen hearing days have been scheduled, with the trial expected to continue until 9 September.
