© Global Look Press / Fabian Geier
Schoolchildren in the university town of Heidelberg went through a traumatic experience on Friday, when their Einschulung - an informal reception during the first-graders' very first hour of school - went terribly wrong. At the ceremony, two divorced German-Iraqi parents, a 35-year-old father and a 26-year-old mother, began to squabble. This then triggered the attention of the woman's relative.
He intervened in the couple's spat and then an elder of the family attacked him, garnering the attention of other relatives and ultimately prompting the school to call the police.
Just one patrol car was dispatched to the school at first, but two officers soon found they could do little to deal with the unfolding crisis. As they listened to both sides, five Iraqi men suddenly assaulted the 35-year-old man "despite the officers being around," a police statement said.
One of the first responders, a female officer, tried to pull the victim away from his attackers, but the man being rescued didn't believe she'd actually rushed to help him and he then stabbed her with a small knife in the thigh.
Rival factions kept up the fighting even after that incident, with as many as 18 police crews sent in to help. As reinforcements arrived, officers had to use pepper spray and coercive force to bring the situation under control. Finally, a total of three men were detained.
To the shock of many who reposted the news online, the perpetrators were then quickly set free, raising more than a few eyebrows in Heidelberg and beyond.
The violent altercation has apparently taken a toll on the pupils as the school management offered professional child welfare services for those affected.
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