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Defendant kills witness in Dresden court

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Defendant kills witness in Dresden court
Photo: DPA

A 32-year-old woman was killed in a Dresden court on Wednesday after being stabbed by the defendant. Meanwhile bystanders were injured as the 28-year-old man was overpowered.

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Police spokesman Thomas Geithner confirmed that the woman was still in the building when she died of her injuries. "The man attacked the woman with a knife in the courtroom," Geithner said, adding that a policeman had fired a shot in the ensuing struggle.

All the background details are not known yet, but a spokesman for the state prosecutor said that the incident, which occurred shortly before 10:30 am, happened during an appeal hearing in a libel case. The defendant had been convicted and fined for libel last year.

Bettina Garmann, a spokesman for the court, said that there had been no reason to believe that special safety procedures would be necessary for the case.

The incident recalled a similar scene of courtroom violence in the Bavarian town of Landshut in April, when a 60-year-old man shot his sister-in-law before turning the gun on himself, following an inheritance ruling.

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