A 7-year-old child died, others were injured after a stabbing attack at a Croatian – National school
A knife-wielding teenager entered a school in the Croatian capital on Friday, stabbing and killing a 7-year-old girl, injuring three other children and their teacher, authorities said.
The attack took place around 9:50 am on the last day of school before Christmas at Precko Elementary School in the Zagreb neighborhood of the same name. Children between the ages of 7 and 15 go to school.
“The attacker is 19 years old who used to study at that school and still lives nearby,” said Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic. “Finally, he started hurting himself. The police stopped him [dying by] to commit suicide.”
Bozinovic said the attacker had mental problems and had tried to kill himself before.
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“It is difficult to say that this person was mentally sound,” he said.
“Five people have been hospitalized and their lives are not in danger,” Health Minister Irena Hrstic told the media. That number includes the alleged attacker.
Attacks on schools are rare in Croatia and the rest of the Balkans, although in May 2023, a teenager from neighboring Serbia opened fire at a school in the capital, Belgrade, killing nine other students and a school guard.
Video broadcast by Croatian media on Friday showed children running from the school building and a medical helicopter landing in the school yard.
Authorities in Croatia declared Saturday a day of mourning and canceled some Christmas celebrations. Candidates for the upcoming presidential election say they are temporarily suspending their campaigns due to the incident.
President Zoran Milanovic said “there are no words to describe the sadness of this terrible and unimaginable tragedy that shocked us all today.”
Milanovic called for unity and an effort to ensure that schools are safe and caring places for children.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in a cabinet meeting that he was “shocked” by the attack and that authorities were still working to find out what happened.
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Associated Press writers Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this story.
– Via file from Reuters
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