2026 Gosen-Neu Zittau school stabbing
On 27 August 2026, a stabbing occurred at a private school in Gosen-Neu Zittau, Brandenburg, Germany. The incident left two people dead. A suspect was arrested.
Stabbing
The incident occurred at the Docemus private school, which offers secondary education. The Gosen-Neu Zittau location consists of a Gymnasium, Oberschule and Fachoberschule. The campus is shared with the local public primary school.
At around 13:45, an 18-year-old female student was fatally stabbed on campus grounds. A 30-year-old male after-school care worker was also killed when he attempted to stop the perpetrator.
A 19-year-old German man was arrested at the scene. He was the ex-boyfriend of the killed student, but attended a different school in Erkner. He was previously charged with a violation of assembly law for carrying a prohibited item to a football game in 2023, which was dismissed by the public prosecutor due to the offence's minor nature. The suspect was known to linger around campus and noted by school staff for drug use.
Investigation
Police have stated that the crime was believed to be an act of domestic violence rather than an attack attempt on the school. The Brandenburg Landeskriminalamt was called in for crime scene forensics. The campus is slated to remain closed for the rest of the week. AbOUT thirty people, including children, remained on school grounds for several hours with officers as part of the reconstruction. Students were given psychological counselling.
On 28 August, the prosecutor's office of Frankfurt (Oder) charged the suspect with two counts of [...], citing suspicion of base motives.
Aftermath
A memorial candlelight vigil was held on the same evening, with around 100 attendants. An upcoming weekend festival was cancelled by the town administration. A remembrance service for the killed school staff member was planned for 30 August by the SG Grün-Weiß Deutsch Wusterhausen football club, of which he was a member.
Brandenburg Minister-President Dietmar Woidke called the stabbing an "unimaginable act of violence". Landtag of Brandenburg President Ulrike Liedtke has described the incident as "cowardly femicide".