A man who attacked two girls and killed one of them in Germany last year was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday, German news agency dpa reported.

The 27-year-old Eritrean, who came to Germany as an asylum seeker, was found guilty of murder and attempted murder with dangerous bodily injury, a regional court in the Bavarian city of Ulm ruled.

The man attacked with a knife the two girls on their way to school last December in the southwestern town of Illerkirchberg. A 14-year-old girl died and her 13-year-old friend was able to escape.

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The morning attack on the girls as they were walking to catch a school bus caused widespread shock and anger in Germany.

The court also determined the man's "special gravity of the guilt," meaning that his early release from prison after 15 years, which is often the case in Germany when people are sentenced to life in prison, is almost impossible.