ZAGREB, Croatia — A knife-wielding teenager walked into a faculty in Croatia’s capital on Friday, stabbed a 7-year-old woman to demise and wounded three extra youngsters and their instructor, authorities stated.
The assault occurred round 9:50 a.m. on the final day of college earlier than Christmas on the Precko Elementary School within the Zagreb neighborhood of the identical identify. It caters for kids between the ages of seven and 15.
“The attacker is a 19-year-old who’s a former scholar of that faculty and nonetheless lives close by,” stated Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic. “Eventually he began injuring himself. Police prevented him from committing suicide.”
Bozinovic stated the attacker had psychological well being issues and had made a earlier try to kill himself. “It is tough to say this particular person was mentally balanced.”
School assaults are uncommon in Croatia and within the Balkans as an entire, though in May 2023, a young person in neighboring Serbia opened hearth at a faculty within the capital, Belgrade, killing 9 fellow college students and a faculty guard.
Video footage broadcast by Croatian media on Friday confirmed youngsters working away from the college constructing and a medical helicopter touchdown within the schoolyard.
Authorities in Croatia declared Saturday a day or mourning and canceled a number of the Christmas festivities. Candidates for the upcoming presidential election stated they had been briefly suspending their campaigns due to the tragedy.
President Zoran Milanovic stated “there are not any phrases to explain the grief over the horrible and unthinkable tragedy that shocked us all at this time.” Milanovic referred to as for unity and an effort to make sure that faculties are a protected and carefree place for kids.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic stated at a authorities session that he was “appalled” by the assault and that authorities are nonetheless working to find out precisely what occurred..
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Associated Press writers Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this story.
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This story has been corrected to clarify that the assault in Serbia was in May 2023.
