Why did German police shoot a 12-year-old Serbian girl?

English translation:

The health condition of the minor from Bochum is being described in German media, citing police sources, as “critical but stable.” However, her lawyer, Simon Barera Gonzalez, insists that her condition cannot be accurately called critical and stable. He stated that the girl is still fighting for her life in the hospital and has undergone two surgeries so far.

Barera Gonzalez also commented on the contradictory information regarding the police operation, specifically how it came about that officers used firearms. He publicly expressed doubts about the accuracy of the version presented to the public by the investigative authorities.

What does the Bochum police say?

The police presented the incident as follows: in the night from Sunday to Monday (November 16–17), officers were searching in the Bochum district of Hamme for a 12-year-old deaf girl. She normally lived in a social care facility in Münster, but her disappearance had been reported that day. It was assumed she was trying to go to her mother.

The facility alerted the police because the girl needed life-saving medication — specifically insulin. Officers went to the apartment in Bochum where her also deaf mother and brother live. There, they found the girl, who, according to the police, approached the officers with two knives.

One officer then fired a shot from his service weapon, hitting the girl in the stomach. The police claimed it was an act of self-defense.

What does the family say?

The lawyer of the 12-year-old girl, who has both Serbian and German citizenship, stated that there is no evidence this was self-defense. After interviewing witnesses, including the girl’s family, Barera Gonzalez described the situation that night very differently.

He said there was no need for self-defense because, according to the girl’s brother, she only had kitchen knives and was not showing aggressive behavior — her actions reflected panic, not aggression, he added.

The mother and brother told the lawyer that the girl reached for the knives after becoming frightened. Her panic, according to the lawyer, was caused by the police, who, after entering the apartment, allegedly threatened the mother with weapons, pushed her to the floor, and handcuffed her.

Missing key evidence

Police have responded to these criticisms and also interviewed witnesses. Investigators confirmed on Wednesday (November 26) that interpreters for sign language were present during the questioning of the mother and brother.

“We tried to report as objectively as possible, based on the scene and witness statements, what happened that night,” said a police spokesperson to dpa. Police claimed they applied force and handcuffed the mother because she tried to prevent them from entering the apartment.

It is still unclear whether the incident will ever be fully clarified. A key piece of evidence is missing: the officers did not have their body cameras on during the operation. According to the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, the cameras remained off because the officers considered it a “routine check.”

“Officers acted to ensure the girl could access her necessary medication. There was no reason to assume any threat, which is a prerequisite for using cameras in apartments,” said Herbert Reul (CDU), Minister of the State Police.

Bodycams are standard equipment for police in North Rhine-Westphalia, but are not always used during operations. It is also known that no sign language interpreter was present during the apartment inspection.

According to criminologist Dirk Bayer, this indicates that the police check in Bochum was likely “difficult,” which probably contributed to the escalation. Police have announced they will investigate whether — and to what extent — there was any communication.

Bayer explained that verbal communication is a key mechanism for de-escalation in such situations, which was impossible in this case due to the specific circumstances — the girl and her mother being deaf.

The criminologist from Zurich also noted that in Germany, police use firearms against civilians about 100 times per year on average, resulting in roughly ten deaths. However, he said he has never known a case in which police fired at a girl this young.

Emergency parliamentary session

After the ongoing investigation concludes, the responsible court must decide whether the officer who shot the minor acted within his authority or violated the law. The investigation has been taken over by the police from neighboring Essen, which is standard in Germany to avoid bias from local investigators.

According to public broadcaster ARD, police are completely prohibited from using firearms against children. Rafal Behr from the Hamburg Police Academy said that self-defense rules are different for children than for adults. “Police are generally not allowed to shoot at children,” Behr said.

The Police Union (GdP) added that using firearms against children is only allowed in cases of a “direct threat to the life of the officer.” Whether that was the case in Bochum remains to be determined by the investigation.

This case could also have political consequences. At the request of opposition parties SPD and FDP, an emergency session of two parliamentary committees — the Committee on Internal Affairs and the Committee on Family, Children, and Youth — has been convened in the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf. The sole agenda item is “Police operation in Bochum on November 17, 2025”.