A 14-year-old pupil has been arrested after allegedly shooting a school principal and a teacher at a middle school in southern France, leaving both with non-life-threatening injuries.
The incident occurred on Monday morning at Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, a town about 11 miles east of Marseille, when the teenager reportedly entered the premises carrying a shotgun concealed in a guitar case before opening fire.
According to regional officials cited by French media, a member of staff eventually restrained the suspect.
No pupils were injured in the shooting, although several were left traumatised by the incident.
Aubagne Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari said the injured principal and teacher received medical attention, adding that the suspect was a ninth-grade pupil at the school.
The Marseille prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into attempted murder following the shooting.
According to reports, the 53-year-old principal was shot in the leg and lower back, while the 37-year-old teacher sustained a gunshot wound to the thigh.
A third person reportedly suffered minor injuries.
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the teenager shot the principal and the other teacher on the first floor before proceeding to the second floor, where he fired two more shots.
Bessone explained that the suspect first fired towards the floor in front of a teacher before shooting inside an occupied classroom, hitting the chalkboard.
Neither the teacher nor the pupils in the classroom were injured.
“Neither [that] teacher nor the students were injured, though they were severely shaken,” Bessone said.
The city authorities said the school’s staff acted swiftly to secure the pupils after the shooting.
All students were confined to safe areas within seconds, while psychological support services were provided at the scene.
Squillari said many of the pupils were emotionally affected by the incident, although most had not directly witnessed the shooting.
“The kids saw practically nothing since it happened in the hallway.
“Psychologically, quite a few were affected, and those in a distressed state are being examined by the psychologist,” he said.
The mayor described the suspect as an ordinary child and disclosed that his father had previously requested a meeting with the school’s educational adviser, although authorities had not established whether the request was connected to the incident.
Two pupils told French broadcaster BFMTV that they encountered the suspected shooter while attempting to leave the building after a fire alarm sounded.
One of them recounted seeing the teenager carrying a hunting rifle at close range.
“He was a metre away, with his hunting rifle. He fired at the ground.”
The pupil said they attempted to flee but the suspect followed them for some distance, prompting them to scream.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with the affected teachers, pupils and their families in a post on X.
“I salute the composure and exemplary response of the educational team, which made it possible to avoid the worst,” he said.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray also condemned the shooting, describing it as an unacceptable act of violence against members of the country’s education system.
“Two staff members from the National Education system, a principal and a teacher, were victims this morning of gunshot wounds at Lakanal middle school in Aubagne,” Geffray wrote on social media. “A student is said to be the perpetrator.”
He added, “This unacceptable act is yet further evidence of the rise of unchecked violence in our society, against which we must all take a stand.”
Geffray is expected to visit the school alongside Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez as investigations into the incident continue.
Local media reported that investigators did not initially believe the shooting was connected to ongoing protests over school conditions in France.
