Tugce Albayrak: Offenbach 'to name bridge' after murdered German student

A German town is considering dedicating a bridge to a student who became a national heroine after she was fatally attacked by a thug for standing up for two underage girls during a fight.

Councillors in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, have put forward the name of Tugce Albayrak as one of the possible options for naming a bridge built in a newly developed area of the city.

The proposal was welcomed by the late student's family. "It would be a great gesture that her family will greatly appreciate," her uncle, identified only as Murat C, told Bild newspaper.

Councillors however said that a final decision on the name will be made only after an investigation into her death is concluded.

The circumstances that led to Albayrak's demise last month shocked Germany, prompting more than 220,000 people to sign an online petition for her to posthumously receive the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit).

The student was dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Offenbach on a Saturday night, when a violent quarrel, involving three young boys and two girls reportedly aged between 13 and 16, broke out in the restaurant's toilet area.

Friends said she left her table and stepped into the argument to quell it upon hearing the girls screaming for help.

The boys subsequently left the premises but when Albayrak came out an hour later, they were waiting for her in a parking lot.

An 18-year-old identified only as Sanel M, according to German privacy laws, reportedly punched her on the side of the head.

The student could be seen falling onto the ground possibly hitting her head on the floor, in security camera footage of the incident.

She entered into a coma and died a couple of weeks later on her birthday, as her parents gave doctors permission to take her off life support after she was pronounced brain dead.

Hundreds of mourners held candlelight vigils in her honour and attended her funerals.

Sanel M has been arrested by police.