A knife-wielding teenager walked into a college in Croatia’s capital on Friday, stabbed a 7-year-old woman to loss of life and wounded three extra youngsters and their trainer, authorities stated.
The assault befell round 9:50 a.m. on the final day of faculty earlier than Christmas on the Precko Elementary College within the Zagreb neighbourhood of the identical title. Kids between the ages of seven and 15 attend the college.
“The attacker is a 19-year-old who’s a former pupil of that faculty and nonetheless lives close by,” stated Inside Minister Davor Bozinovic. “Ultimately he began injuring himself. Police prevented him from [dying by] suicide.”
Bozinovic stated the attacker had psychological well being issues and had made a earlier try and kill himself.
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“It’s exhausting to say this individual was mentally balanced,” he stated.
“5 individuals have been hospitalized and their lives should not in peril,” Well being Minister Irena Hrstic informed the media. That quantity consists of the suspected attacker.
College assaults are uncommon in Croatia and within the Balkans as an entire, though in Might 2023, a young person in neighbouring Serbia opened fire at a school within the capital, Belgrade, killing 9 fellow college students and a college guard.
Video footage broadcast by Croatian media on Friday confirmed youngsters operating away from the college constructing and a medical helicopter touchdown within the schoolyard.
Authorities in Croatia declared Saturday a day or mourning and cancelled a number of the Christmas festivities. Candidates for the upcoming presidential election stated they had been quickly 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 present.”
Milanovic referred to as for unity and an effort to make sure that colleges are a protected and carefree place for youngsters.
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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Related Press writers Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this story.
— With a file from Reuters
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