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The attack is said to have taken place in this residential group in Bassersdorf.
Maps
An argument over a cell phone escalated into a knife attack: an asylum seeker is on trial in Bülach for allegedly seriously injuring two caregivers with a knife - now it's a case of attempted murder.
It was an attack that shook even experienced social workers: on February 12, 2024, the situation in the Brüttisellen country home escalated dramatically when a teenager attacked his caregiver with a knife. On Wednesday, the asylum seeker from Pakistan had to answer to the Bülach district court.
Shortly after 4 pm, the accused turned up at a group home in Bassersdorf. His goal: to get his confiscated cell phone back. Armed with two steak knives he had brought with him, he demanded that the social worker hand over the device, according to the indictment.
When she refused, the situation escalated: the young man lunged at the social worker, threw her to the ground and cut her several times in the face with one of the knives. As she tried to defend herself, she screamed for help - a cry for help that was heard by her colleagues.
A social worker and a trainee immediately rushed to help. The social worker managed to push the attacker away from the woman - she was able to escape. But the attacker was unstoppable: when the trainee confronted him, the teenager pointed the knife at him and pushed him against the wall. The second social education worker intervened again - but this time she was the victim herself. The perpetrator pushed her to the floor, knelt on her, pulled her by the hair and inflicted two cuts on her face.
It was only when the trainee fought back again, intervening with a watering can, that the accused was finally overpowered. The trainee threw the knife out of his hand - shortly after the accused tried to attack the caregiver again with the words "I'll kill this bitch!", as stated in the indictment.
The victims suffer various cuts. Some remain forever, as the wounds are scarred and some are up to 16 centimetres long.
What began with an argument over a cell phone ended in a bloodbath. Now the teenager has to stand trial for attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.