France school shooting in Aubagne injures principal and teacher

Police in southern France have detained a 14-year-old student after a shooting at Joseph Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne, near Marseille, left the school principal and a teacher injured. Officials said the suspect allegedly hid a hunting shotgun in a guitar case before opening fire on Monday. A third person was grazed in the incident, and the school was evacuated as children ran for cover.

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Marseille Public Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the student fired once or twice on the first floor before moving to the second floor and firing again. Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari said a staff member disarmed the teenager before police arrived and took him into custody. Police said the principal and teacher were hit in the legs and were not in critical condition after being struck by ammunition used in 12-gauge shotguns.

The shooting has drawn attention because gun violence involving pupils is rare in France. Education Minister Edouard Geffray said the incident was an unacceptable act and evidence of rising unchecked violence in society. The prime minister's office said the interior and education ministers were heading to the scene, underlining the seriousness with which authorities were treating the case.

The attack also comes against a wider backdrop of concern about school safety and violence in France. Officials said there was no immediate indication that the shooting was linked to protests by high school pupils demanding better-resourced schools, which have been taking place in recent weeks. That distinction matters because it suggests investigators are treating the Aubagne case as a separate criminal incident rather than part of a broader wave of demonstrations.

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France has seen very few school shootings involving pupils, but there have been isolated cases in the past. In 2017, a 16-year-old student armed with a rifle, pistols and a small grenade opened fire at a high school in southern France and wounded three students and the principal. The Aubagne case is likely to renew debate over school security, access to weapons and how quickly staff can respond when violence breaks out.

What remains unclear is the motive for the shooting and how the student obtained the weapon. Authorities have not said whether the suspect had any prior warning signs or disciplinary history. Further details are expected as investigators question the detained pupil and examine the circumstances of the attack, including how the shotgun was brought into the school and why the first shots were initially mistaken for construction noise.

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