A 14-year-old pupil has been arrested after opening fire with a hunting shotgun at his middle school in Aubagne, southern France, wounding the principal and a teacher in what prosecutors called a rare school shooting.
The attack took place on the morning of Monday, October 12, at the Joseph Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, about 15 kilometres east of Marseille. The teenager reportedly hid the weapon in a guitar case before firing multiple shots across two floors of the building.
FAKTA
- What: A 14-year-old ninth-grade pupil fired a 12-gauge hunting shotgun inside Collège Lakanal in Aubagne, France.
- When: Monday morning, October 12, 2026.
- Victims: The 53-year-old principal was wounded in the leg; a 37-year-old teacher was hit in the thigh. Both were hospitalised; neither injury is life-threatening.
- Suspect: Detained immediately by a staff member who disarmed him; the Marseille prosecutor has opened an attempted murder investigation.
- No pupils injured: All students were confined and made safe within seconds, Aubagne mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari said.
How the attack unfolded
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said in a statement that the pupil fired once or twice on the first floor, wounding the principal and the teacher with ammunition used in 12-gauge shotguns. The boy then went to the second floor and opened fire again, twice, the prosecutor said.
A senior school supervisor restrained and disarmed the teenager before police arrived and took him into custody. No pupils were physically injured, and the mayor said mental health counselling is being offered to students.
No link to school protests, officials say
Broadcaster BFMTV and Le Parisien, citing sources familiar with the investigation, reported that the shooting was not thought to be related to the protests over school conditions that have shaken France for weeks. Police confirmed the school had not been impacted by the blockades.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray called the attack “unacceptable” and said it highlighted the rise of violence in society. He travelled to the scene that afternoon with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ordered them to the school.
Suspect’s motive under investigation
According to French media citing police sources, the suspect — who had no prior police record and was not known for delinquency or radicalisation — told investigators he felt “harassed by the school” and “unloved”. The prefecture said he was in his final year of middle school.
Gun violence perpetrated by pupils in schools is rare in France. In 2017, a 16-year-old armed with a rifle opened fire at a high school in southern France, wounding three students and the principal. Last year, a middle school employee in eastern France was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old student during a bag check.
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