14-year-old student shot principal and teacher at French middle school

A 14-year-old student opened fire at Joseph Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, in southern France on Monday morning, injuring the school principal and a teacher before being restrained by staff and arrested.

The suspect entered the school with a 12-gauge shotgun concealed in a guitar case, according to regional officials and French media reports. He fired at least four shots, including one that struck a blackboard in a classroom where teachers and students were present. The 53-year-old principal was shot in the leg and lower back, while a 37-year-old teacher was hit in the thigh. Both victims received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. A third person sustained minor injuries. No students were harmed.

A staff member restrained the shooter in a school corridor, and police took him into custody shortly after. The suspect is a ninth-grade student at the school with no prior criminal record or reported signs of radicalization, according to authorities. The boy's parents were also detained as police investigated how he obtained the weapon. The incident was not connected to recent nationwide high school protests over school conditions, local officials said.

All students were immediately confined to safe areas within seconds of the shooting. The mayor reported that while students witnessed little of the incident, many were psychologically affected and received support from a psychological support unit set up on site. President Emmanuel Macron praised staff for their "calm and exemplary" response, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Education Minister Édouard Geffray visited the scene. Authorities opened an investigation for attempted murder.

The shooting reflects a broader pattern of violence in French schools in recent months. In February 2026, a 14-year-old stabbed an art teacher multiple times. In June 2025, a 14-year-old student killed a teaching assistant in eastern France, and in April 2025, another student attacked multiple classrooms with a knife, injuring two girls and two other students.