Herrmann says Schongau school attack was right-wing violence

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said investigators now classify the attack at a school in Schongau as right-wing violence. He gave the details to a Bavarian Landtag inquiry committee, BR reported.

The 16-year-old former pupil entered the Welfen-Gymnasium on July 8 with a pistol and two knives, seriously injuring two students. Herrmann said the suspect had written a manifesto marked by misogyny, hostility towards queer people, racism and antisemitism. A psychological report has not yet reached the public prosecutor’s office, but initial assessments indicate the teenager was fully criminally responsible.

Police, the school and the youth welfare office had known about the teenager before the attack. In March 2025, more than a year beforehand, he allegedly glorified school shootings on social media, prompting an investigation by Munich II public prosecutors. A search of his home uncovered a protective vest, a balaclava and knives. He was temporarily excluded from school before transferring to another school.

Despite this, the Bavarian Interior Ministry said he was not classified as a “high-risk individual” or included in the threat management programme. The ministry cited around 600 suspicious online cases a year in Bavaria, saying authorities faced limits in handling them. It also said there had not been sufficient grounds to seek pre-trial detention.

Herrmann called preventing violent attacks a responsibility for society as a whole, not just the police. He said authorities would need to consider further measures once all the information was available, including how schools and youth welfare services respond to warnings about students.

The Greens proposed expanding the Bavaria Alliance against Disinformation to address digital propaganda promoting violence, but the proposal was rejected by a majority of the committee. Green parliamentary group member Florian Siekmann called for action on digital platforms to prevent young people from encountering extremist material. SPD member Christiane Feichtmeier called for more support for parents and children before police or youth welfare services need to become involved.