Local media reports have said the student was a ‘minor’ who stabbed several people at an elementary school in the Croatian capital Zagreb – the children have been evacuated
A primary school is “under siege” following a horror attack from a “minor student” who stabbed a teacher and injured several children.
An ambulance and helicopter rushed to the school in Prečko, a neighbourhood in Trešnjevka, a district of Croatian capital Zagreb, following the shock attack, with the aircraft touching down on the school’s playground. Local reports have stated that children were among those stabbed by the attacker.
Local media covering the incident have said seven people were injured in the suspected mass stabbing, five of whom were children. Other people who were in school at the time were evacuated from the building, but the school remains “under siege”, with some people still on the grounds.
Broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) reported that the attacker is a 15-year-old boy who “reportedly entered the school with a knife and entered the first class he came across”. The broadcaster added that it was not clear as to whether the victims came solely from the initially targeted class.
An HRT journalist told of the “horrific scenes witnessed by children” as they described the “massacre”. They said: “After six ambulance teams, a helicopter unit arrived to take away the victims of this massacre. The scenes witnessed by the children are horrific. There are no words to describe what happened here.”
Students and staff have been left “in shock” Dnevnik.hr reported today, with some “in tears” as they wait for their parents to take them home. While information about the attack is limited, the publication reported that there is a large emergency presence at the scene, including “at least six ambulances”.
Police said in a statement: “Today, December 20, at around 9.50am, a young man injured a teacher and several students with a sharp object in an educational institution in the Prečko area. The attacker is under police surveillance, and the injured are receiving medical attention.”
Zagreb’s mayor, Tomislav Tomašević, has arrived at the scene alongside police, with authorities expected to deliver a public statement in due course. The Prečko Elementary School director spoke briefly to the Večernji list, saying the school would not issue an official statement and asking the public for “understanding” as the distressing event developed.
They said: “We cannot be well, we are not well. We are not making any statement, please be understanding at this moment.” Dnevnik.hr added that the attack took place at the end of the first school semester.
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