Overview
- Authorities confirmed officers did not switch on their bodycams during the late‑night operation on November 17.
- Interior Minister Herbert Reul said bodycams in North Rhine-Westphalia are activated only when a threat is perceived, which he said was not anticipated for this welfare check.
- Police say the girl was shot in the abdomen after she stood directly in front of officers holding two knives, and she was taken to hospital with initially life‑threatening injuries.
- Investigators state they believe the child attacked before the shot, and the public prosecutor is examining the use of force and procedural steps.
- The girl's mother had been handcuffed shortly before the shooting, both mother and child are deaf, no sign‑language interpreter was present, and how communication occurred is part of the inquiry.