On Monday, 19 October, in the Romanian city of Bistrița, a seventh-form pupil attacked a teacher and another pupil with a knife. Police detained the teenager, Digi24 reports.
The incident took place at Ștefan cel Mare Secondary School No. 6. According to the outlet, the 13-year-old arrived at the school wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a folding knife. During a Year 6 maths lesson, he injured the teacher and a pupil who tried to help her.
According to one pupil, the attacker knocked on the classroom door and, when the teacher opened it, lunged at her. Some pupils ran out of the room.
The 28-year-old teacher and the 12-year-old pupil were taken to hospital. Their condition is stable.
According to local media, shortly before the attack the teenager posted a TikTok video in which he was wearing a helmet and balaclava and holding a knife. In the clip, he spoke about his plans.
"I’ve been preparing for this for eight months! See you in Valhalla! I’ll do it! They have no idea how dangerous I am!" the 13-year-old pupil said.
Preliminary reports suggest the motive for the attack may have been racial hatred. Investigators say the teenager was looking for a specific pupil of Roma origin.
"This pupil — the attacker — came here from Spain around 2019–2020. He was looking for a pupil of a different ethnic background," the statement said.
Romania’s acting education minister, Mihai Dimián, condemned the attack and stressed the need for legislative changes to strengthen security in schools.
"I strongly condemn the act of aggression that took place this morning at a school in Bistrița, in which a teacher and a pupil were injured. Based on the information available at this time, the condition of both victims is stable. I wish them a speedy recovery; my thoughts are with their families and the entire school community. I also want to thank the police officers and medical teams for their actions," Dimián said.
- On 7 October, a knife attack took place in the Polish city of Ostrołęka at the "Complex of Vocational Schools No. 4". The attacker turned out to be a 19-year-old pupil at the same institution