Lüdenscheid: Schools in focus after amok alarm – safety guaranteed?

Lüdenscheid: Schools in focus after amok alarm – safety guaranteed?

School safety is once again the focus of public discussion, especially after the violent incident that occurred in Essen on September 5, 2025. A 17-year-old student stabbed his teacher and seriously injured her - a shocking event that caused fear and uncertainty among many students and teachers. Luckily, the 45-year-old teacher survived the attack while nearby students provided first aid. The suspected perpetrator was later arrested by a special operations team three kilometers from the crime scene and seriously injured. However, this raises many questions about safety and the corresponding protective measures at schools, especially in the Märkischer Kreis region, which also includes Lüdenscheid.

The schools in the Märkischer Kreis are well equipped: The school authority Alexander Bange made it clear that all vocational colleges are equipped with modern amok protection systems that are checked annually. However, according to critical voices, the technical requirements for protection against amok may be inadequate. In fact, there are solid recommendations for crisis prevention at the vocational colleges, which are regularly reviewed. These were introduced after the horrific school shootings in Erfurt in 2002 and Winnenden in 2009, and the relevant police departments offer advice on shooting prevention. However, it should be noted that no pure “amok exercises” are carried out in schools; Rather, the focus is on prevention and raising awareness of potential dangers.

Prevention and crisis management

Although school shootings are rare in North Rhine-Westphalia - there have been a total of 15 incidents since 2000, including five in North Rhine-Westphalia - there is a risk that the perpetrator will claim victims before the police arrive. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul emphasized that the police were well prepared and referred to the emergency folder “Look and Act”. This contains instructions for school management and a publicly accessible section that deals with crisis prevention and warning signs of potential acts of violence. Warning signals can include thoughts of revenge, threats or considerations about purchasing weapons, which is becoming increasingly important in the ensemble with the assessment of criminal psychologists such as Karoline Roshdi.

Roshdi recommends that every school should have a crisis team - a concept that was developed after the shooting in Erfurt. In many federal states such as Bavaria and Hamburg, the formation of such teams is already mandatory, while in North Rhine-Westphalia they are only recommended. A well-functioning crisis team would be able to assess the seriousness of warning signs and take necessary steps before an incident occurs.

The role of the Security in Schools Initiative

Schools receive important support through the Safety in Schools initiative. This is committed to the preventive creation of a safe environment. Its core goals are to promote crisis prevention, particularly with regard to school shootings. An interactive presentation by the initiative covers technical prevention measures and offers opportunities to discuss and evaluate previous incidents. Exchange between educational institutions and commercial companies is also sought in order to develop innovative solutions and strengthen crisis management.

Schools have a great responsibility and improving safety measures is crucial for the school community. In this regard, it becomes clear that the course for a secure future in schools must be set in a timely and proactive manner. This is the only way to strengthen the trust of students, teachers and parents in the security of their educational institution in the long term.

For further details on the topic of safety in schools and the current status of prevention measures, you can read the reports on come-on.de, WDR as well as information from the Safety in Schools Initiative see.