Attempted robbery of children in Schönau - police are looking for witnesses!

Attempted robbery of children in Schönau - police are looking for witnesses!

In the Schönau district of Leipzig, there was a threatening incident on Sunday evening that shouts at the neighborhood. Around 9:20 p.m., an unknown man approached two children, at the age of 12 and 13, and demanded valuables. He threatened the two with a weapon. The unknown perpetrator is described as about 1.80 meters tall and slim, with black -brown, medium -length curly hair and a short chin. He was dressed in a black sweater, a black long trousers with branded logo and black branded shoes. The incident called the police on the schedule, who are now investigating due to attempted heavy robbery and is urgently looking for witnesses. These are asked to report to the criminal police at Dimitroffstraße 1 or by phone at (0341) 96646666, as the LVZ reports.

A similar incident occurred on Friday afternoon. Three boys aged 9, 10 and 12 years were observed how they were traveling with a knife on the street of October 18. The little ones asked other children and adolescents aged 13 to 15 to give them money, one of the boys underpinning their threats with a knife. Fortunately, the endangered children were able to flee and remained unharmed. The police quickly became aware of the boys and handed them directly to their parents. Since the actors are still too young to be prosecuted, this happened without criminal consequences. The Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reports on this alarming development.

children and youth crime in focus

Such incidents are not new, but there are questions about the current situation of youth crime in Germany. In 2024, a maximum of around 13,800 cases was recorded, which is more than twice as high as in 2016. This affects not only young people between the ages of 14 and 17, but also adolescents between the ages of 18 and 20. Although the total number of young suspects has dropped by about 6 percent, the topic remains explosive. Experts of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) attribute the increase to mental stress due to the corona measures and specific risk factors among young people seeking protection, as Statista shows.

The high proportion of male teenagers among the suspects is particularly striking. In 2024, almost three quarters of the young criminals were male, and the proportion of men under the age of 21 who were convicted in court is around 84 percent. This development has a broad discussion about the effectiveness of punitive measures and the reduction in punishment. The need for increased prevention, especially through child and youth welfare, is being convened louder to interrupt criminal CVs and contain the dangerous trend.

The current events in Leipzig are an urgent wake -up call that has to be done more for the safety of our children and adolescents. The call to the population for help is a significant measure to avoid such incidents in the future. It is to be hoped that the police's investigation will provide information about the background of the acts and that those responsible can be held accountable.