Knife-wielding schoolboy kills teacher, injures two in Slovakia

Police detain the 13-year-old in the northwestern village of Staskov, launch investigation into ‘premeditated murder’.

A 13-year-old elementary schoolboy has stabbed a 61-year-old female teacher dead in northwestern Slovakia, according to authorities.

A 44-year-old female teacher and a schoolgirl were also seriously wounded in Tuesday’s attack in the village of Staskov, near the Czech border, emergency service spokeswoman Petra Klimesova told the AFP news agency.

Health Minister Kamil Sasko told reporters the schoolgirl was “in a serious, critical condition”.

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said at a news conference in Staskov that the life of the second teacher who was stabbed in the chest was not in danger.

A motive for the attack was not immediately known.

Police said the attacker was arrested and is being investigated by the Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK) for “premeditated murder”.

The situation in the village with a population of about 2,750 people was “under control”, according to the law enforcement service.

Sutaj Estok praised the head teacher who was present at the scene and said, “she followed every single procedure outlined in the available manuals to the letter and prevented the tragedy from becoming even worse.”

Reactions

Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed his “sincere condolences” and said he was following “the tragic incident in the village of Staskov with great concern”.

“Personally, I am deeply saddened by this,” he said in a statement.

President Peter Pellegrini said he was “shocked that this is yet another case in which a student attacked teachers and a classmate”.

“Aggression and an atmosphere of intolerance – spread primarily by social media and, unfortunately, by some politicians as well – are literally poisoning the public sphere and influencing the behaviour of our children in schools,” he said.

He urged “all citizens to act in a way that calms the atmosphere, rather than further radicalising it”.

Last year, an 18-year-old student fatally stabbed a 51-year-old deputy principal and an 18-year-old student at a high school in northern Slovakia.

In 2020, a 22-year-old former student attacked a high school in the town of Vrutky, killing the deputy principal and wounding five people, including two students.

In 2022, a high school student attacked and injured a female pupil at a high school in Novaky.