Police in France have detained a 14-year-old boy after he allegedly shot his middle school principal and a teacher, local officials said. The incident took place on Monday at Joseph Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne, a town near Marseille, where the suspect reportedly hid a hunting rifle inside a guitar case.
Frightened children rushed for cover as several shots rang out. According to Marseille Public Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone, the teenager first fired one or two rounds on the first floor, hitting the principal and a teacher in the legs, before moving upstairs and firing twice more.
Injuries and the pupil account of the attack
Police said the headmaster and the teacher were not in critical condition after being struck by ammunition used in 12-gauge shotguns. A third person was grazed during the attack.
A pupil speaking to Reuters said her maths teacher had initially dismissed the first loud bang as noise from nearby construction. When a second blast followed, an alarm sounded and students poured into the corridors.
Staff member disarms suspect before police arrive
Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari told reporters that a member of staff managed to disarm the teenager before officers reached the school. The suspect was then taken into custody.
The prime minister’s office said the interior and education ministers were heading to the scene.
Minister condemns violence, with no protest link
Education Minister Edouard Geffray posted on X that the act was unacceptable and further evidence of rising, unchecked violence in society, which everyone must confront. Gun violence committed by pupils in French schools is considered rare.
The country recorded a comparable case in 2017, when a 16-year-old armed with a rifle, pistols and a small grenade opened fire at a high school in southern France, wounding three students and the principal. There was no immediate information linking Monday’s shooting to protests by high school pupils demanding better-resourced schools, which have unsettled France for several weeks.
