- A seven-year-old girl was killed and a teacher and five other students were injured in a knife attack at a school in the Croatian capital, police said.
- Police described the attacker as a “young man” and said he had been arrested.
- State-run HRT television said the attacker entered the school and went straight to the first classroom he found and attacked the children.
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A knife-wielding teenager On Friday, two police officers entered a school in the Croatian capital Zagreb, killing a 7-year-old student and wounding three other children and a teacher, authorities said.
According to authorities, the knife attack occurred at 9:50 a.m. at Precko Elementary School in the neighborhood of the same name. They described the attacker as a 19-year-old man and said he was arrested after inflicting injuries on himself.
Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said one child died while three children and a teacher were injured.
Police secure access to the elementary school where a 7-year-old girl died and a teacher and five other students were injured in a knife attack in Zagreb, Croatia, on December 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ronald Gorsic)
“The attacker is a 19-year-old, a former student of this school who still lives nearby,” said Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic. “Eventually he started hurting himself. The police prevented him from committing suicide.”
Bozinovic said the attacker had previously had mental health problems and had already tried to take his own life: “It is difficult to say that this person was mentally balanced.”
Video footage released by Croatian media showed children fleeing the school building and a medical helicopter landing in the schoolyard.
Authorities in Zagreb declared Saturday a day of mourning. President Zoran Milanovic said: “There are no words to describe the sadness at the terrible and unimaginable tragedy that shocked us all today.” MIlanovic called for unity and efforts to ensure that schools are a safe and carefree place for children .
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told a government meeting he was “horrified” by the attack and that authorities were still working to clarify the exact incident. Plenkovic said several children were taken to various hospitals in Zagreb.
State-run HRT television said the attacker entered the school and went straight to the first classroom he found and attacked the children.
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Attacks on schools are rare in Croatia. Last May, a teenager in neighboring Serbia Opened fire on a school in the capital Belgrade, killing nine classmates and a school guard.
