Fast WiFi or life? Teenagers plan to murder their mother!

Fast WiFi or life? Teenagers plan to murder their mother!

A frightening incident occurred in Houston, Texas, that brought the propensity for violence among young people into focus. After an argument over internet usage, three teenage girls aged 14, 15 and 16 attacked their 39-year-old mother with kitchen knives after she switched off the WiFi. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez reported that the sisters hatched a plan to kill their mother. The attack resulted in the mother being followed throughout the house and onto the street.

During the incident, a 70-year-old grandmother who tried to intervene was also knocked over. One of the sisters injured their mother's ankle with a brick. Fortunately, both women were uninjured. The three girls were then arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They are now being held at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center while an investigation into the incident continues. crown reports that this incident is not just an isolated case, but raises questions about juvenile crime.

Focus on youth violence

The Houston incident is part of a worrying trend. According to one ZDF documentation Due to juvenile crime, the willingness to use violence among young people has increased. The 2022 police crime statistics show an increase in child and youth crime after two decades of decline. Violent crime, which includes homicide, aggravated assault and robbery, has increased by around a third.

A study by the Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute shows that violence among young people is becoming increasingly accepted. While in 2013 only 13.9% of ninth graders viewed violence as acceptable, that number increased to 25.9% by 2022. This development could also be due to the growing understanding of images of masculinity that legitimize violence. Approval rose from 18.9% to 29.8%. Additionally, 30.9% of male youth reported carrying potential offensive weapons, indicating worrying consistency since 2013.

Causes and solutions

Criminologist Dirk Baier warns of a serious increase in youth violence between 2021 and 2022, which cannot only be explained by the return to normality after the corona pandemic. Baier sees a problem for society as a whole that is characterized by an increase in social roughness and aggressiveness. Factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency include violent upbringings, criminal friendships, school failure, and alcohol and drug use.

To counteract these developments, experts recommend early preventive measures. But Baier emphasizes that harsher punishments alone are not enough to combat youth violence. Instead, mediation and engagement between perpetrators and victims could be considered effective approaches to bring about long-term change. Police NRW underlines the urgency of these measures.