BERLIN (AP) — A migrant was convicted of murdering his 15-year-old German ex-girlfriend and sentenced to 8.5 years in prison.

The stabbing of the 15-year-old girl at a drug store in the southwestern town of Kandel in December 2017 shocked Germany and triggered a debate about violence by migrants.

Because of privacy rules, the girl has been identified only as Mia and the migrant as Abdul D., who was also convicted of assault in a German court.

Monday's verdict comes at a time when Germany is struggling to come to terms with the influx of more than 1 million migrants since 2015.

Emotions have run high after another fatal stabbing last month, allegedly by two migrants, in the eastern city of Chemnitz. It has triggered sometimes violent protests by far-right groups.