A candlelit vigil was held in Germany last night in memory of young student Tugce Albayrak, who tragically died after bravely confronting a group of men who'd been harassing two teenage girls.
Tributes are being paid to Tugce, who courageously stepped in to intervene and help the girls back on November 1st, after she heard their cries for help in the toilets of a McDonalds in the town of Offenbach near Frankfurt.
BBC News reports that one of the men then later returned and viciously attacked her in the car park, striking her head with a stone or a bat and leaving her in a coma.
Her parents were faced with the truly devastating decision to turn off life support on her 23rd birthday on Friday, when doctors confirmed that she would never regain consciousness and that she had been left brain-dead from the horrendous incident.
Over 150 people attended the gathering held in Berlin in memory of Tugce, leaving flowers, candles and notes to praise her as a hero for her wonderfully inspiring courage and selflessness.
A petition calling for Tugce to be posthumously awarded the national order for merit has also gathered over 100,000 signatures since the news broke of her death. President Mr Gauck has written to her family to say: "She will always remain a role model to us, our entire country mourns with you. Where other people looked the other way, Tugce showed exemplary courage and moral fortitude."
An 18 year old man named only as Senal M has confessed to striking Ms Albayrak, and is in custody over the deplorable attack, which took place on 15th November.
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