Train Collision Resulting in Girl Being Hit
In the small town of Friedland, located in the extreme south of Lower Saxony near the borders with Hesse and Thuringia, a 31-year-old man has been placed under a detention order following the death of a 16-year-old girl at the local station.
The tragic incident occurred on August 11, when the girl was allegedly intentionally pushed onto an oncoming freight train by the suspect. Initial investigations by the police suggested an accident as the cause of her death.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers found three people, including the suspect, who led them to the platform where the girl was already lying dead. DNA traces of the man were found on the shoulder of the victim.
It was later revealed that the suspect had a history of psychiatric issues. On the day of the crime, he exhibited signs of mental disturbance, and it was known that he had been previously diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The suspect had filed an asylum application in Braunschweig in 2022, which was rejected in December of the same year. Subsequent investigations by the state criminal police office found evidence against him, leading to his detention.
A voluntary alcohol test showed 1.35 per mille for the man. The man, who is of Afghan origin, served a substitute custodial sentence and then reported again as an asylum seeker in Friedland.
Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens has criticised the Dublin procedure, stating that the suspect should not have been in Germany. She has called for a thorough investigation into why the suspect was not transferred under the Dublin procedure.
Deportation to Lithuania, where the man had previously resided, was possible from March 2025. However, a detention pending deportation application was rejected by the district court of Hannover in July 2025.
The suspect has denied any involvement in the crime. He was confronted by an investigating judge in a specialist clinic after the DNA traces were found, but he exercised his right to silence.
Rumors about the incident were deemed unfounded on social media on Wednesday. The police were called to the station just before the crime due to a man causing a disturbance. The investigation into the tragic incident is ongoing.
