A Spanish teacher was stabbed Wednesday morning at the Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin Catholic high school. The teacher succumbed to her injuries and a high school student was arrested.
A drama in progress. A Spanish teacher at Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin Catholic high school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) died after being stabbed by a student in her class on Wednesday February 22, announced the Bayonne public prosecutor’s office. The public prosecutor, Jérôme Bourrier, and the Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, went there in the afternoon.
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A 16-year-old student was arrested, learned franceinfo from a police source, and he shows signs of psychic instability, according to the first elements collected. Confined to their classes at first, the high school students were then taken care of by a psychological unit. Pap Ndiaye specified that a minute of silence would be observed Thursday at 3 p.m. in all schools in France.
Teacher stabbed in the chest
The 16-year-old student probably came himself with his bladed weapon, a knife, learned France Télévisions from the prosecutor. It was in the middle of class, at 9:45 a.m., that he stabbed the 53-year-old teacher in the chest. He then left the classroom and it was another teacher who “apprehended” him until the arrival of the police. Dispatched to the scene, the police and emergency services failed to resuscitate the teacher.
According to a student interviewed by France Bleu Pays Basque on the spot, the attacker would have got up in full course, holding the weapon in paper, with which he would have stabbed his teacher. “I did not see him get up but I saw him facing the teacher, very calm, and he approached her and stuck a large knife in her chest, without saying anything”for his part described in front of journalists a pupil, present in the class at the time of the facts, reported AFP. “We did not know how to react, there is a student who opened the door and we all left. I fled, I left the establishment.” The teenager adds that there was “never had a problem between him and the teacher in class”.
The main suspect allegedly heard voices
A 16-year-old student was quickly arrested and transferred to the Saint-Jean-de-Luz police station. Until now unknown to the police and justice services, he was taken into custody. For the moment, little information is known about the motivations of the young suspect. He reportedly said he was possessed and heard voices, France Télévisions learned from a police source.
An investigation opened for assassination
The investigation into this murder was entrusted to the judicial police of Bayonne. The public prosecutor clarified that the investigation had been opened “for assassination, i.e. for premeditated murder”. He will speak at greater length on the elements of this investigation on Thursday.
“Nothing suggested the occurrence of such a terrible tragedy”, for his part declared the Minister of National Education, recalling that the establishment was “calm, renowned for its seriousness and the serenity of its school climate”. “There is therefore no reason to draw hasty conclusions”, added Pap Ndiaye.
A psychological unit set up
The students of the second class who witnessed the drama, as well as two other second classes, “i.e. 90 students”, were taken care of by a psychological unit, said the Minister of National Education.
A minute of silence will also be observed Thursday at 3 p.m. in all schools, as well as in Universal National Service (SNU) centers.
Many political reactions
The political class reacted strongly. “The assassination of a teacher in Saint-Jean-de-Luz fills us with intense emotion”, wrote Emmanuel Macron on Twitter at the end of the afternoon. The Head of State “shares the pain of his family, his colleagues, his students, our teachers who dedicate their lives to transmitting knowledge to future generations. The nation is at your side.”
The Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, on Twitter, was the first to speak, evoking a “huge emotion”. “It’s a sad day for National Education, a sad day for this establishment”, he then said once there, Wednesday afternoon.
“After the appalling tragedy that occurred in Saint-Jean-de-Luz this morning, the whole of France is in mourning”, said Wednesday on Twitter the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet. “I can hardly imagine the trauma that this can represent”reacted the spokesman of the government, Olivier Véran, at the exit of the Council of Ministers.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also spoke on Twitter, saying she shared “the shock and pain of the educational community” from Saint-Thomas d’Aquin high school. “All my thoughts are with the victim, his family and loved ones, his colleagues, the students.”
On the opposition side, the LR deputy and leader of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, accompanied his message of condolences of a request for revision of the law. “Thoughts this morning for the family of the teacher stabbed to death by a student in the middle of class in Saint-Jean-de-Luzhe wrote on Twitter. Our Black Republic Hussars are on the front line against the enslavement of society. It is urgent to review the graduation of sentences for minors!”
To the left, the deputy La France insoumise of Seine-Saint-Denis, Alexis Corbière, expressed his feeling of“horror”. “The whole country is shocked by this crime. Affection and solidarity with the family and colleagues of this despicably murdered teacher, he tweeted. All the light must be shed by the police and justice as soon as possible”.