In brief
In a shocking incident on Monday morning, a 14-year-old pupil was arrested after a gunshot exchange at Lakanal middle school, Aubagne, resulting in injuries to a principal and a teacher. Neither teacher suffered life-threatening wounds and no other students were harmed. French authorities confirmed the attack was unrelated to ongoing protests over school conditions. Education Minister Geffray and Interior Minister Nuñez visited the site to reassure the public and outline safety measures.
A nine-year-old has been arrested after a principal and a teacher were shot at a secondary school in Aubagne, a town near Marseille, on Monday. Authorities say the suspect, aged 14, entered the building with a firearm before several shots rang out.
No children were injured, and the two staff members were hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds – the principal was shot in the leg, while the teacher was hit in her thigh.
Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari said the pupil was detained "immediately" and that all students were quickly brought to safety.
The incident comes amid broader protests over school conditions, but French media say the shooting was unrelated to those demonstrations.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced the attack via a social-media post, noting that a student was the perpetrator and that he would visit the scene with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez later that day.
Authorities have launched an investigation and are working with law-enforcement agencies to determine how the student obtained a weapon.
