A 14-year-old boy armed with a hunting rifle opened fire at a middle school in southern France on Monday, injuring the headmaster and a teacher before a staff member disarmed him, authorities said.
The shooting occurred at Joseph-Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne, near Marseille. Police said a third person was grazed by gunfire.
Authorities said there was no apparent connection between the incident and the high school protests that have swept across France in recent weeks.
“The middle school was not affected by the high school students’ protest,” police told AFP.
Marseille’s deputy public prosecutor, Audrey Jouaneton, said the suspect arrived at the school carrying a bag resembling a guitar case, from which he removed a long firearm identified as a hunting rifle.
He fired at least four shots, including inside a classroom occupied by teachers and pupils. One of the bullets left a mark on the classroom’s blackboard, Jouaneton said.
The school’s 53-year-old headmaster and a 37-year-old teacher sustained gunshot injuries but were not in critical condition, according to authorities.
Bouches-du-Rhône regional prefect Jacques Witkowski said the headmaster was struck by pellets in the thighs and lower back. The second teacher sustained a buckshot injury to the thigh before a member of staff intervened and disarmed the suspect.
Witkowski added that the teenager was not known to authorities for any history of delinquency or radicalisation.
A pupil identified as Sarah told AFP that she heard the fire alarm during her Spanish lesson and went into the corridor, where she and her classmates encountered the gunman.
“He started shooting and said: ‘I’ve only come for the teachers, not for the pupils,’” she said.
An investigation into attempted murder has been opened.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the school staff for their quick response, saying their composure helped prevent a more serious tragedy.
“I commend the composure and exemplary response of the teaching staff, which helped to prevent the worst from happening,” he wrote on X.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Education Minister Edouard Geffray visited the scene on Monday afternoon.
Geffray condemned the attack and called for action against violence in society.
“This unacceptable act is yet further evidence of the rise of unchecked violence in our society, against which we must all take a stand,” he said on X.
The incident comes amid a series of violent attacks at French schools in recent months, prompting some institutions to introduce bag checks at their entrances.
In February, a 14-year-old stabbed an art teacher at least three times in southern France, leaving the 60-year-old educator in critical condition.
In June last year, a 14-year-old student fatally stabbed a teaching assistant in eastern France. Another attack in April last year saw a student stab a girl and three other pupils in several classrooms.
