14-year-old student enters French school with weapon and shoots the principal and a teacher, suspect handcuffed

A14-year-old teenager is suspected of opening fire with a firearm on Monday morning inside a French school, injuring the institution’s principal and a teacher.

The incident took place at the Lakanal high school, located in Aubagne, near Marseille, in the south of France. According to French media reports, the suspected perpetrator of the attack is precisely the student, who was promptly handcuffed after the act.

It is reported that the young man entered the school premises holding a firearm, and the following moments were accompanied by several gunshots. An employee of the educational institution managed to deactivate him before the arrest was made.

The53-year-old principal was hit by a bullet in the leg, while the37-year-old teacher was injured in the thigh area. Both education employees received medical care and, according to official statements, their injuries are not life-threatening. The mayor of Aubagne, Jean-Pierre Squillari, emphasized that no student was injured in the shooting.

The mayor also clarified that security protocols were activated within seconds, while all students were immediately sent to protected spaces.

France’s Minister of Education, Edouard Geffray, gave official confirmation of the wounding of the principal and a teacher by gunfire at the Lakanal school. He also revealed that the suspected perpetrator of the attack is a student.

Geffray is expected to go to the scene alongside Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez in order to closely follow the development of the situation.

BFMTV and Le Parisien, relying on sources close to the investigation, report that the incident is not believed to be related to the protests held over school conditions. Authorities are deepening the investigation to clarify the circumstances and motives of the event.