A 12-year-old girl was assaulted by four older girls with an immigrant background on her way home from school in Leipzig. They forced her onto her knees, struck her repeatedly in the face and filmed the torture. The video was circulated on social media. The school states that it is working to “raise awareness” among pupils.
On 3 March, the girl was assaulted on Yorckstraße in the Leipzig-Möckern district. Four girls with an immigrant background aged 14–15 surrounded her, forced her onto her knees and demanded that she apologise. They then struck her six times in the face while a fifth person filmed the entire incident. The video was posted on social media, where it continues to circulate.
According to BILD and Leipziger Volkszeitung (LVZ), the video shows how the 12-year-old is forced onto her knees before the perpetrators strike her six times on the cheek in succession.
The background, according to the girl’s father, is that one of the four perpetrators regularly demands money from other children. The German term is “abziehen”, a form of systematic extortion. When the 12-year-old attempted to warn other children about this, she was punished.
The father told BILD that his daughter had attempted to warn other children, and that the attack was an act of revenge. She was forced to kneel and apologise before the blows were delivered.
The perpetrators also threatened her with consequences if she contacted the police.
Traumatised and afraid of school
The father told LVZ that the 12-year-old daughter has been severely affected following the incident. She cries frequently and is afraid to attend school. She sustained a fracture to her left cheekbone. She is now escorted to and from school by her parents.
The video is circulating among pupils also in the girl’s own class, and the psychological strain is described by the father as “enormous”.
The State Office for Schools and Education (Landesamt für Schule und Bildung) stated to BILD that it has spoken with the class and is working to “raise awareness” among pupils that such acts are punishable and should be reported.
The police are investigating the case as grievous bodily harm, filming of violence and coercion. However, since the perpetrators are 14–15 years old, they fall under German juvenile criminal law, where the principal purpose is “education”, not punishment.
A city in the grip of gangs
The case is not isolated. Leipzig has for months been plagued by a youth gang consisting of around 14 children and young people who have been responsible for over 200 criminal cases since the autumn of 2025. According to Junge Freiheit, the gang is led by two eleven-year-old twin brothers with a family background from South Sudan. Other members have Chechen backgrounds. The children are criminally immune. The German age of criminal responsibility is 14.
The police in Leipzig confirm that the gang has committed over 150 criminal offences, including robbery, bodily harm and threats. A special investigation group was established in October 2025. Parents at the local Montessori school organise escort groups because children are no longer safe on their way to school.
And now, a gang of girls who beat and film the humiliation of a child, in order to spread it as a demonstration of power on social media.
The figures from German crime statistics for 2024 paint a bleak picture. The number of children under 14 suspected of violent offences rose by 11.3 per cent, to 13,755 children. Overall, violent crime in Germany reached a new peak of 217,277 cases. This is the highest number since 2007.