A former student hacked a teacher to death and critically injured two others with a knife at the Gambetta School in the northwest of Paris. The assailant, known to security services for his radical Islamic views, allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
The critically injured include a security guard who suffered multiple stab wounds and another teacher. The suspect has been apprehended by the police, as confirmed by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The incident, which is being probed as a potential act of terrorism, comes amidst escalating global tensions over the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It also eerily mirrors the tragic incident nearly three years ago when another teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded by a radicalized Chechen near a school in the Paris area.
The French anti-terror prosecutors are spearheading the investigation into the stabbings at the Gambetta-Carnot school in Arras, located approximately 185 kilometers north of Paris. The school caters to students aged 11–18.
The deceased teacher has been identified as Dominique Bernard by his colleagues. Bernard taught French at the school.
President Emmanuel Macron visited the school shortly after the attack. He praised Bernard’s bravery, stating that his actions likely saved many lives. Macron also revealed that an “attempted attack” in another French region was thwarted by police following the fatal stabbing of the teacher. However, he did not provide further details.
In a separate incident in the Yvelines region west of Paris, police arrested a man armed with a knife as he exited a prayer hall. The motives behind his actions remain unclear.
The suspected perpetrator of the Arras attack was apprehended. Identified as a Russian national of Chechen origin born in 2003, he has been under close surveillance by French intelligence services since the summer. Despite being subjected to tails and telephone surveillance and even being stopped for a police check as recently as Thursday, no wrongdoing was found.
Sliman Hamzi, one of the first police officers on the scene, reported that the suspect shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic, during the attack. Hamzi described finding a male victim lying on the ground outside the school and witnessing the attacker being taken into custody.
Two other men—another teacher and a security guard—are reportedly in critical condition following the attack.
Macron paid his respects to Bernard’s blanket-covered body lying in front of the school amidst forensic experts working around it. He later met with students from the school housed in an adjacent building.
School attacks are rare in France, prompting the government to call for heightened vigilance at all schools across the country.
Julie Duhamel, an official with the Unsa teachers’ union in the Pas-de-Calais region that includes Arras, revealed to Franceinfo that teachers had noticed signs of radicalization in the suspect “a few years ago.”