Teacher Killed in Knife Attack at French High School in Arras
ARRAS, Oct 13 – A teacher was tragically killed in a knife attack at the Lycee Gambetta-Carnot high school in Arras, northern France on Friday. The incident also left several people injured, including a second teacher and a school security guard. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has taken over the investigation.
According to the regional Pas-de-Calais authority, the suspected assailant, a Russian-born Chechen and former student of the Lycee Gambetta high school, has been arrested. He was reportedly on the watchlist of individuals considered a potential security risk in relation to radical Islamism.
Local media reports suggest that the attacker may have shouted “Allahu Akbar,” but the police could not confirm this. The assailant is believed to be around 20 years old.
The person killed in the attack has been identified as a French language teacher, while a sports teacher was stabbed and injured. Pupils at the school were confined to their classrooms as the incident unfolded.
President Emmanuel Macron is on his way to Arras, according to his office. In a televised address on Thursday, Macron called on the French people to remain united and not to bring the Israel-Hamas conflict into their own country.
Authorities have stated that there is no indication at this time of any link to the events occurring in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecution office has announced that it is launching an investigation into the attack. The suspect’s brother has also been taken into custody.
For the safety of all students, all schools in Arras have implemented lockdown measures, according to La Voix du Nord newspaper. Arras is located in the ethnically diverse northern region of France, which has experienced industrial decline over the years.
France has been the target of numerous Islamist attacks in recent years, including the devastating assault on entertainment venues and cafes in Paris in November 2015. In 2020, Samuel Paty, a teacher, was beheaded by a Chechen teenager in an act of revenge for showing cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammad during a lesson on freedom of expression.
The investigation into the knife attack at Lycee Gambetta-Carnot high school is ongoing, and authorities are working to determine the motives behind the tragic incident.
Reporting by Layli Foroudi, Michel Rose, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Tassilo Hummel, Benoit van Overstraeten, Alain Acco; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Richard Lough and Deborah Kyvrikosaios
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