A knife-wielding youth entered a school in the Croatian capital on Friday, fatally stabbing a 7-year-old girl and injuring three other children and their teacher, officials said.
The attack happened around 9:50 a.m. on the last day of school before Christmas at Priko Elementary School in the Zagreb neighborhood of the same name. Children between the ages of 7 and 15 go to school.
The attacker is a 19-year-old who is a former student of the school and still lives nearby, Interior Minister Devor Bozenovic said. “Eventually he started injuring himself. The police stopped him from committing suicide (dying).
Buzenovic said the attacker had mental health issues and had previously tried to kill himself.
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He said that it is difficult to say that this person was mentally balanced.
“Five people have been admitted to the hospital and their lives are not in danger,” Health Minister Irina Hristik told the media, including the suspected attacker.
Attacks on schools are rare in Croatia and the Balkans as a whole, although in May 2023 a teenager in neighboring Serbia School shooting In the capital Belgrade, nine fellow students and a school guard were killed.
Video footage broadcast by Croatian media on Friday showed children running from the school building and a medical helicopter landing in the school yard.
Authorities in Croatia declared a day of mourning on Saturday and canceled some Christmas festivities. Candidates for the upcoming presidential election said they are temporarily suspending their campaigns because of the tragedy.
“There are no words to describe the grief of this terrible and unimaginable tragedy that shocked us all today,” said President Zoran Milanovic.
Milanovich emphasized unity and striving to ensure that schools are safe and caring places for children.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told a government meeting that he was “horrified” by the attack and that authorities were still working to determine what happened.
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Associated Press writers Joanna Jack and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this story.
– With a file of writers
and copy 2024 Canadian Press