An individual has reportedly entered a high school in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, in Western Germany. The suspect has allegedly been seen wearing a mask and armed with a knife.
Police are already on site, including special units from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia such as the Spezialeinsatzkommando (SEK), specialized in handling high-risk situations like hostage scenarios and terrorism, and the Beweissicherungs- und Festnahmeeinheit (BFE), specialized in crowd control.
As of 0619 EST, SEK and BFE units have entered the building to search for the armed suspect.
Immer mehr schwer bewaffnete SEK-Beamte laufen in die Schule, angeblich wurde eine maskierte Person mit Messer im #Gymnasium gesehen #Wuppertal #Amok #Polizei pic.twitter.com/GYNyjB6cHw
— Frank Schneider (@chefreporterNRW) April 19, 2024
Despite the heavy police presence and initial concerns, the search concluded without the discovery of any suspects or dangerous individuals.
The incident caused significant disruption, including the barricading of students within classrooms. As a precaution, the school’s planned Abitur exams were deferred to a later date. The situation was resolved by noon when students were safely escorted out of the building, and authorities confirmed that no injuries were reported.
This false alarm comes on the heels of a previous act of violence at another local school, explaining the large scale of the police response.
