A 14-year-old boy stabbed three teachers and two students in the middle of class. The scene occurred in Jerez La Frontera in southern Spain.
A 14-year-old student stabbed three teachers and two students at a college in southern Spain on Thursday, an extremely rare incident in the country where political and religious authorities have called for “urgent reflection” on violence. Back to the facts.
Three teachers and two students injured by knives
A teenager armed with two knives stabbed several people shortly after classes began at the Elena García Armada public secondary school in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia (South).
“Three teachers and two students were injured,” Adrian Dominguez, a police spokesman, told the press.
Four of the five injured were taken to the hospital, said Patricia del Pozo, the regional education director. A teacher hit in the eyelid will undergo surgery, she said, while the three others, two teachers and a child, suffered less serious injuries.
• The mayor conjures up a “dramatic” situation
The police-sealed school, which houses nearly 700 students, saw a crowd of concerned parents gather outside its closed gates in the morning to hear news about their children, according to images shown on Spanish television.
The mayor of Jerez de la Frontera, Maria José Garcia-Pelayo, described the situation as “dramatic” and said that “all the parents were outside the facility wishing they could hug their children.” “We are all upset,” she continued, very moved. The students who have now been able to leave the facility could benefit from psychological support, she assured.
According to several student statements, the suspect stabbed students in his class and the teacher, who was struck in the eye, before leaving the class and going to another class.
• The motives of the suspect arrested are unknown
The suspected student was checked and taken to a police station. “We don’t know the reasons” that led this teenager to make such a gesture, said the regional president of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, who admitted that she was “scared” because the situation could have been “much worse.”
Once the age of criminal responsibility is reached in Spain, which is 14, the suspect can be prosecuted.
The regional education director stated that she was not aware of any open harassment protocol for “this child,” whether he was the victim or the cause, and that he had never come to attention for behavioral issues, “conflicts, nothing, absolutely nothing.”
• Emotions of the Spanish political class
This news, extremely rare in the country, caused a stir and led to calls from several authorities to start a discussion about violence.
“We must initiate a collective reflection on the role that violence plays in all areas: television, cinema, (video) games, in the social sphere (…) in social networks,” emphasized Juanma Moreno, one of the main leaders of the major party of the Spanish right, the People’s Party.
“This invites us to urgent reflections for our society” (…) this news informs us of the current serious situation and of an equally difficult prospect for the future,” added the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Francisco César García Magán, added.
Hugues Garnier with AFP journalist BFMTV