France school shooting: Police detain pupil after two injured

What the report says

French police detained a 14-year-old student after a shooting at Joseph-Lakanal Middle School in Aubagne, near Marseille, that wounded the school principal and a teacher, Al Jazeera reported on Monday, citing local officials and prosecutors. The suspect allegedly hid a hunting shotgun in a guitar case before opening fire inside the school. Officials said a staff member later disarmed the teenager before officers arrived.

According to Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone, shots were fired on more than one floor of the building. The principal and teacher were hit in the legs and were not described as critically injured. A third person was grazed during the incident. Students fled the school as the alarm sounded, with one pupil telling Reuters that classes first mistook the noise for construction before panic spread.

The shooting has prompted a response from senior French officials. Education Minister Edouard Geffray called the attack unacceptable in a post on X, while the prime minister’s office said the interior and education ministers were heading to the scene. Al Jazeera noted that firearm attacks carried out by students are uncommon in France, though there have been past incidents. The report also said there was no immediate indication that the shooting was linked to recent pupil protests over school funding and resources.