Young people in Altenstadt threaten: police are looking for witnesses for incident!

Young people in Altenstadt threaten: police are looking for witnesses for incident!

In Altenstadt, a worrying incident occurred on Friday evening, June 14, 2025. Around 10:40 p.m., a car held at the Schillerstraße and Zeppelinstrasse intersection when a young man suddenly threatened to loudly shoot young people in the back seat. This threatening Situation escalated when the car reversed and the unknown exit. He approached one of the young people and presented a black brass ring while he asked if he should strike. Under the impression of this threat, the young people quickly moved away. The Illertissen police then initiated investigations into the weapons law for threats and an offense. For further information on the incident, you are asked to provide information about the perpetrator or the vehicle, a possible VW Golf. Notes can be submitted on 07303/9651-0.

youth crime in focus

The incident is also increasing the growing problem of youth crime, which in Germany recently reached a maximum of around 13,800 cases in 2024, more than twice as high as in 2016. The increasing trend is particularly frightening in adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), among other things, mentions the psychological stress by the Corona measures as a factor that contributes to these growth. Although the number of young suspects fell by around 6 percent to around 452,000 cases, the situation remains tense and requires increased prevention measures.

The question discussed whether and to what extent the criminal law on children under the age of 14 should be applied is becoming increasingly pressing. Incidents such as this show that the boundaries between youthful carefree and serious threats are often fluid. The gender aspect is also not to be neglected, because almost three quarters of the young suspects are male, and the proportion of men in the case of judges under the age of 21 is astonishing 84 percent.

similar incidents and their consequences

In a parallel case from Vienna, a 14-year-old student of Syrian citizenship was accused of threatening classmates with a knife. Here, too, a striking ring was ensured and the police did not find a knife. These two incidents make it clear that violent threats among young people not only pose an increasing problem locally, but also nationally. However, the young people concerned had not been violated in both cases.

The prevention of such incidents is now on the agenda of politics. Laws alone cannot solve the problem, especially the social context in which young people grow up plays a central role. As the BKA knows, help offers for children and adolescents are particularly necessary to counteract criminal résumés and to dissuade them from the street.

it remains to be hoped that the authorities and the community will take further measures in order to counteract such worrying developments and to offer young people positive perspectives.