Teacher is stabbed to death and multiple children wounded in knife attack at Slovakian school before police shoot knifeman dead
- Police said that they killed the attacker in Vrutky, in the north of the country
- The 22-year-old man was a former pupil at the school, police have confirmed
- The assailant stabbed and killed the deputy principal and injured several others
A teacher has been stabbed to death and multiple children wounded in a knife rampage at a Slovakian school.
The 22-year-old attacker, a former pupil at the school in the town of Vrutky, killed the deputy principal and knifed several others, including a caretaker, a female teacher and two pupils before he was shot dead by police.
Brave staff tried to stop the knifeman as he smashed through a glass door and forced his way into the school.
He was eventually shot dead by police around 600ft from the school after trying to flee from the scene.
A teacher has been stabbed to death and multiple children wounded in a knife attack at a Slovakian school. Police are pictured outside the school in Vrutky this morning
‘He broke the glass door to get in, the staff tried to stop him and he used a knife he had brought with him,’ Slovak police chief Milan Lucansky said on his official Facebook page.
‘He dealt a lethal injury to a deputy principal and injured the caretaker, then he got inside the building where he caused a serious injury to a female teacher and then injured two kids with multiple stab wounds,’ he said.
‘He then tried to escape with the caretaker running after him. A policeman chased him, but he tried to defend himself with the knife so they used their guns and killed him.’
The assailant stabbed and killed the deputy principal and injured several others, including a female teacher and two children. An ambulance is pictured outside the building
Police had no immediate comment about the motives of the attacker.
The injured were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Martin.
Prime Minister Igor Matovic conveyed his ‘sincere condolences’ to the family of the victim.
The interior minister was flying to the scene, Matovic told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of central European leaders in the neighbouring Czech Republic.
A spokeswoman for the country’s rescue services said five people were injured. Among those taken to hospital with stab wounds were the two children.
Police had no immediate comment about the motives of the attacker. The injured were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Martin
Prime Minister Igor Matovic conveyed his ‘sincere condolences’ to the family of the victim. Pictured: a police officer outside the school today
The head teacher and one of the children reportedly suffered stab wounds, while the other child was treated for cuts.
A witness described hearing gunshots. Two police officers were among the wounded.
Slovak elementary schools began reopening on June 1 under an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures.