In an escalated police operation in Bochum, a 12-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injuries after approaching officers with two knives. One officer used a Taser, another fired their service weapon. Investigations continue, complicated by the deafness of both the girl and her mother.
The girl normally lives in a residential group in Münster and depends on life-sustaining medications. She suddenly went missing on Sunday, prompting her caregivers to alert the police. In the night to Monday, there were indications she might have traveled to her mother in Bochum.
Around 1:30 a.m., the mother opened the apartment door to the officers. According to police and prosecutors, the 12-year-old approached the policemen with two knives in her hands. Feeling threatened, the officers drew their weapons: One used his electroshock device (Taser), which briefly incapacitates the target with an electric shock without causing life-threatening injuries. Another fired shots from his service weapon, severely injuring the girl.
Doctors fought for her life in the operating room hours later. They then described her condition as "critical but stable".
The operation was particularly challenging because both the daughter and the mother are deaf. A police spokesman stated that whether and how communication occurred – possibly via notes on paper – is under investigation. Many details of the sequence remain unclear as police and prosecutors probe the incident.