A 14-year-old schoolboy has opened fire with a hunting gun at a middle school in southern France, injuring the headmaster and a teacher before a member of staff intervened and disarmed him.
The incident occurred on Monday, October 12, at Joseph-Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, sending shockwaves through the school community and prompting an attempted murder investigation.
According to local authorities, a third person was grazed by gunfire during the incident, while the two injured school officials were reported to be in stable condition and not critically injured.
Investigators are now working to establish how the teenager obtained the firearm and what motivated the shooting.
Marseille’s deputy public prosecutor, Audrey Jouaneton, said the suspect arrived at the school carrying a bag resembling a guitar case, from which he removed a long firearm.
He reportedly fired at least four shots, including inside a classroom occupied by teachers and pupils. One of the shots left a mark on the classroom blackboard.
Jacques Witkowski, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône region, said the headmaster, aged 53, was struck by multiple pellets in his thighs and lower back.
The second victim, a 37-year-old teacher, sustained a buckshot injury to the thigh.
Authorities said neither victim was in critical condition. A member of the school staff eventually managed to disarm the teenager, preventing the incident from escalating further.
The suspect was not previously known to authorities for delinquency or radicalisation, Witkowski said.
A pupil identified as Sarah told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency that she and her classmates encountered the armed teenager after hearing the school’s fire alarm during a Spanish lesson.
According to her account, the students entered the corridor and came face-to-face with the suspect.
She said the teenager began firing and told those present that he had come for the teachers, not the pupils.
The account has added to concerns about the potential consequences of the attack, which unfolded in a school environment where students and staff were present.
Authorities have not yet established the motive behind the shooting.
French authorities said there was no apparent connection between the shooting and the student protests that have affected parts of the country in recent weeks.
Police told AFP that Joseph-Lakanal middle school had not been involved in the high school protests.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited the scene following the incident and confirmed that the suspect’s father had been taken into custody.
Nunez said investigators were seeking to understand how the teenager obtained access to the hunting gun.
An investigation into attempted murder has been opened as authorities work to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack and determine whether other individuals were involved.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the school staff for their response, saying their composure and actions helped prevent more serious consequences.
In a message posted on X, Macron commended the staff for what he described as an exemplary reaction during the emergency.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray also visited the scene and called for a broader response to violence affecting schools.
He argued that schools could not be expected to address major acts of violence on their own, stressing the need for a wider societal response.
The incident comes amid growing concerns about violence in French educational institutions, with some schools introducing bag checks at entrances following a series of attacks.
France Faces Renewed Concerns Over School Violence
The shooting adds to a series of violent incidents involving students and school staff in France in recent months.
In February, a 14-year-old stabbed an art teacher in southern France at least three times, leaving the 60-year-old educator in critical condition.
In June 2025, another 14-year-old student fatally stabbed a teaching assistant in eastern France.
A separate stabbing incident in April 2025 also left a girl and three other pupils injured after a student attacked people in several classrooms.
The latest attack in Aubagne has renewed questions about school security, young people’s access to weapons and the measures authorities can take to protect teachers and students.
For now, investigators are focusing on the teenager’s access to the hunting gun and the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Although the headmaster and teacher were not reported to be critically injured, the incident has raised fresh concerns about the safety of schools across France.
