A 16-year-old boy was remanded in custody at the Court in Roskilde on Saturday, charged with the fatal stabbing of another 16-year-old the previous evening.
The suspect appeared at a preliminary custody hearing, known as a grundlovsforhør, on August 15. DR reports that senior prosecutor Anne-Mette Seerup said the boy is charged with homicide for stabbing the victim in the chest and back. The 16-year-old denies guilt.
The killing took place Friday evening close to a park where students from Himmelev Gymnasium were holding a school-start party. According to Berlingske, the victim was a student at the school and was flown by helicopter to Rigshospitalet, where he later died. The incident happened at Folkeparken by Louisevej in Roskilde.
DR’s reporter at the courthouse, Helle Smidstrup, described the atmosphere inside the courtroom as hateful. Six friends of the victim were present, and one of them tried to move toward the suspect before police stopped him. On his way out, he shouted that the suspect had killed his friend.
The disorder continued outside the building, where police held back the group of the victim’s friends. More officers were called in and dogs were brought out, per DR’s account from the scene. People at the courthouse were told to stay in their cars for at least ten minutes after the remanded suspect had been driven away.
Smidstrup described the victim’s friends as being around 16 years old. She also described the suspect as appearing affected in the courtroom.
The court’s decision to remand the boy was based partly on material indicating that a confrontation between groups cannot be ruled out, according to Ritzau. Ekstra Bladet reports the same reasoning from the judge, and adds that the hearing was held behind closed doors with social services present because of the suspect’s age.
Seerup said the investigation is still at a very early stage, and that it cannot be excluded that more than one perpetrator was involved. Berlingske reports that police told Ritzau they view the stabbing as arising from a conflict between the two boys. Sjællandske Nyheder reports that the emergency call came in at 5:33 p.m. Friday.
Crisis help at Himmelev Gymnasium
Students at Himmelev Gymnasium are being offered crisis counseling after the killing. Principal Julie Rørdam Thom said many students witnessed the crime and experienced it at close range. She said the school is doing its best to look after the students, and that its thoughts are with the grieving family.
Thom described the death as incomprehensibly sad, calling it hard to understand that someone so young should lose his life. BT reports that crisis assistance was organized on campus for both students and staff from Saturday morning.
