France school shooting: Police detain pupil after two injured

Officials say a staff member disarmed the suspect, who hid a hunting shotgun in a guitar case, before police arrived.

French judicial police officers arrive at the Joseph-Lakanal Middle School after a headmaster was injured by a hunting rifle shot and a teenager was arrested in Aubagne, southern France on October 12, 2026 [AFP]

Police have detained a 14-year-old student suspected of shooting and wounding his middle school principal and teacher with a hunting rifle he hid in his guitar case, according to local officials.

Children ran for cover at Joseph Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne on Monday after the suspect fired multiple shots. The student fired once or twice on the first floor of the school, injuring the principal and teacher in the legs before he continued to the second floor and opened fire again, twice, Marseille Public Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said in a statement.

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A staff member disarmed the teen before police arrived and took him into custody, Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari told reporters.

A third person was grazed in the shooting in the southern town near Marseille, while the headmaster and teacher were not in critical condition after being hit with ammunition used in 12-gauge shotguns, police said.

Pupils are comforted by their parents as they leave Joseph-Lakanal Middle School after a headmaster was injured and a teenager was arrested in Aubagne, southern France, on October 12, 2026 [AFP]

One student told Reuters that her maths teacher had played down the bang of the first gunshot blast as noise from nearby construction. A subsequent blast was followed by an alarm and classes emptied into the corridors.

“We were panicking; we ran,” the student said. “There were two ways out: one passage to the sports hall and one passage to go outside. Survival instinct took over, and I ran towards the outside.”

France’s Education Minister Edouard Geffray took to X to comment on the event and wrote, “This unacceptable act is yet further evidence of the rise of unchecked violence in our society, against which we must all take a stand.”

Gun violence perpetrated by pupils in schools is rare in France. In 2017, a 16-year-old student armed with a rifle, pistols and a small grenade opened fire at a high school in southern France, and wounded three students and the principal.

Policemen stand in front of Joseph-Lakanal Middle School after the shooting in Aubagne, France, October 12, 2026 [AFP]

The prime minister’s office said the interior and education ministers were heading to the scene.

There was no immediate information to suggest that the shooting was in any way connected to protests by high school pupils demanding better-resourced schools that have been shaking France for several weeks.

官方称，在警察到达之前，一名工作人员缴获了嫌疑​​人的武器，嫌疑人将一把猎枪藏在吉他盒里。

2026年10月12日，法国南部奥巴涅，一名校长被猎枪击中受伤，一名青少年被捕。法国司法警察抵达约瑟夫·拉卡纳尔中学。[法新社]

据当地官员称，警方拘留了一名14岁学生，他涉嫌用藏在吉他盒里的猎枪射伤其中学校长和老师。

周一，在奥巴涅的约瑟夫·拉卡纳尔中学，一名嫌疑人连开数枪，孩子们纷纷寻找掩护。马赛检察官尼古拉斯·贝索内在一份声明中表示，这名学生在学校一楼开了一两枪，击中校长和一名教师的腿部，随后他又来到二楼，再次开枪，开了两枪。

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市长让-皮埃尔·斯奎拉里告诉记者，一名工作人员在警察到达并将其拘留之前缴获了这名少年的武器。

警方称，在马赛附近南部小镇发生的枪击事件中，第三人被子弹擦伤，校长和教师被12号霰弹枪子弹击中，但情况并不危急。

2026年10月12日，法国南部奥巴涅，约瑟夫·拉卡纳尔中学发生校长受伤、一名青少年被捕事件，学生们在离开学校时受到家长的安慰。[法新社]

一名学生告诉路透社，她的数学老师轻描淡写地将第一声枪响解释为附近建筑工地的噪音。随后的一声枪响引发了警报，学生们纷纷涌入走廊。

“我们当时很恐慌，就跑，”这名学生说。“有两个出口：一个通往体育馆，一个通往室外。求生本能驱使我朝外面跑去。”

法国教育部长爱德华·热弗雷在X上就此事发表评论，他写道：“这种不可接受的行为进一步证明了我们社会中不受控制的暴力行为的增加，我们所有人都必须对此表明立场。”

在法国，学生在校园内实施枪支暴力事件十分罕见。2017年，一名16岁学生携带步枪、手枪和一枚小型手榴弹在法国南部一所高中开枪，造成三名学生和校长受伤。

2026年10月12日，法国奥巴涅发生枪击事件后，警察站在约瑟夫·拉卡纳尔中学前。[法新社]

总理办公室表示，内政部长和教育部长正在赶往现场。

目前尚无任何信息表明这起枪击事件与高中生要求学校获得更好资源的抗议活动有任何关联，这些抗议活动已经震动法国数周。