Pupil, 14, held after shotgun wounds headteacher, teacher in France
French police said a 14-year-old fired a hunting shotgun hidden in a guitar case at a middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, wounding two staff and grazing a third person.
Update ·
Joseph Lakanal college will stay closed on Tuesday as the investigation continues, local paper reports.
All 2 updates ↓A 14-year-old pupil was detained after firing a hunting shotgun hidden in a guitar case at a middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, wounding the school's headteacher and a teacher and grazing a third person, French officials said.
The boy entered the Joseph Lakanal middle school, about 15 kilometres east of Marseille, in the morning on Monday, went up to the first floor and fired at least four shots at two people in the corridor, prosecutors and the Aubagne mayor's office said. The headteacher was hit by pellets in the thighs and lower back; the teacher was hit in the thigh, regional prefect Jacques Witkowski said.
The school's CPE, a pupil-welfare coordinator, disarmed the boy in a corridor before police arrived and arrested him, the mayor's office said. Neither wounded staff member was in critical condition, Witkowski said; all three injured were treated at the scene.
Witkowski said the suspect, a pupil at the school, had no known history of delinquency or radicalisation; the reasons for the attack remain unknown. Police told AFP the middle school was not affected by the separate protest movement sweeping French secondary schools over teaching conditions, and said there was no link between the two.
Joseph Lakanal college will stay closed on Tuesday as the investigation continues, French regional newspaper Nice-Matin reported.
That separate protest movement also saw unrest elsewhere in France on Monday: clashes broke out near a blockaded lycee in Merignac, near Bordeaux, and in Rennes, where fires and urban violence outside several schools required police and fire crews to intervene. Schools and a university were also blockaded in Tours and Quimper, according to regional news outlets.
Interior minister Laurent Nunez and education minister Edouard Geffray travelled to Aubagne on Monday afternoon. "This unacceptable act bears witness once again to the development of unbridled violence in our society, against which we must all mobilise," Geffray said.
What we know
- 1 outlet · Sitel A 14-year-old fired a hunting shotgun hidden in a guitar case at Joseph Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, on Monday morning.
- Official · Jacques Witkowski The headteacher was hit by pellets in the thighs and lower back; the teacher was hit in the thigh; a third person was grazed, prefect Jacques Witkowski said.
- 2+ outlets · Associated Press Europe, Belfast Telegraph The school's CPE disarmed the boy before police arrested him; neither wounded staff member was in critical condition.
- 1 outlet · Sitel The college will stay closed on Tuesday as the investigation continues, Nice-Matin reported.
- Official · Jacques Witkowski, French police Witkowski said the suspect had no known history of delinquency or radicalisation; police said the shooting is not linked to the separate lycee protest movement affecting other French schools that day.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Why it matters for Europe
School shootings remain rare in France compared with some other countries, making Monday's attack unusual. The case adds to concerns about school safety at a time when the government is already facing nationwide pupil protests over conditions in secondary education, though officials say the two are unconnected.
Updates
·
Joseph Lakanal college will stay closed on Tuesday as the investigation continues, local paper reports.
·
Prefect says the weapon was a single hunting shotgun, not a handgun and shotgun as first reported; a third person was also grazed.
First published.
Sources
Reported by 16 reports from 17 independent outlets in 7 countries.
- Sitel: Директор на училиште и еден наставник повредени во пукање на југот на Франција
- Belfast Telegraph: Pupil detained after suspected school shooting in France
- The Irish News: Pupil detained after suspected school shooting in France
- Associated Press Europe: French police detain student suspected of shooting the principal and a teacher at his school
- The National Scotland: Pupil detained after suspected school shooting in France
Source balance
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Questions and answers
- Who was injured in the Aubagne school shooting?
- The headteacher and a teacher were wounded by shotgun pellets, and a third person was grazed, prefect Jacques Witkowski said.
- Who is the suspect?
- A 14-year-old pupil at the school who was detained after being disarmed by the school's CPE; officials have not named him.
- Is the school still closed?
- Yes, Joseph Lakanal college will stay closed on Tuesday while the investigation continues, Nice-Matin reported.
This article was written with AI assistance from 19 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.