German police probe alleged encouragement for fatal jump
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An apartment block photographed in Schmoelln, eastern Germany, Sunday Oct. 23, 2016. Officers were called to this building in Schmoelln on Friday afternoon Oct. 21, 2016 by the caregiver for a group of young migrants, who reported that a 17-year-old Somali boy was acting violently, police said. When they arrived, he was sitting on a fifth-floor window ledge. Police and fire officers tried to persuade the teenager not to jump, but he leapt and died shortly afterward of his injuries. Onlookers apparently shouted "Jump!" before the teenage migrant leapt from the apartment block in the eastern German town, suffering fatal injuries, the mayor said Saturday Oct. 22, 2016 . (Michael Reichel/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)
German police say they're investigating allegations that onlookers encouraged a teenage Somali migrant to jump from an apartment block, but officers at the scene heard nothing of the kind and they've yet to find any solid evidence.
The boy, who had just returned from a psychiatric clinic, jumped on Friday in the eastern town of Schmoelln, suffering fatal injuries. Mayor Sven Schrade said Saturday he'd heard information that "there were apparently shouts like 'go on, jump!'"
Thuringia state police said Sunday that police and fire officers at the scene had heard nothing like that, and no one had reported such calls to police. They said that, after Schrade's comments, a woman told them she'd heard of someone saying something that could be interpreted as encouragement to jump.