After an attack on two other girls nearby led to the lockdown of her school in eastern France, a girl suffered a heart attack and died.
The 14-year-old girl died of heart failure after her middle school in Souffelweyersheim, near Strasbourg, shuttered on Thursday afternoon to protect itself from a knifeman, according to AFP.
The perpetrator attacked a seven-year-old and an 11-year-old girl outside a neighboring elementary school, leaving them with minor injuries.
According to an official, the 14-year-old girl experienced such great stress as a result of the incident that she suffered a heart attack and died later that afternoon.
Education official Olivier Faron said on Friday that teachers “rescued the youngster by being very quick to call the fire department.” “She died at the end of the afternoon.”
He went on to say, “Sadly, this pupil underwent an episode of very high stress that led to a heart attack.”
Speaking outside the middle school on Friday morning, a mother stated that her son, who is in his first year of secondary school, was similarly worried during the lockdown.
Deborah Wendling stated, “Whereas in primary school they made it more like a game, maybe here it was a little too direct. He believed there was an armed individual in the school. They could hear doors slamming, but it was actually other classrooms locking down.
Mr. Faron defended the teachers, saying, “There is no perfect solution… [but] we will investigate thoroughly what happened.” If we can learn any lessons from this, we will apply them.
AFP reports that the hospital released the two little girls who sustained minor injuries in the knife attack on Thursday evening. After the incident, police detained a 30-year-old guy.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office said an investigation into the attempted murder of youngsters has begun. It said that the assailant’s motivations were unclear; however, the act did not appear to be terrorist-related.
It comes as tensions rise in French schools, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal outlining a slew of measures to combat violence perpetrated by students against their peers.
