Boy, 14, shoots two teachers at French school in Aubagne

A 14-year-old pupil shot a principal and a teacher at Joseph-Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, a town about 11 miles east of Marseille, on the morning of 12 October 2026. The boy was disarmed by a staff member and arrested. No students were hurt, and the two teachers' injuries were not life-threatening, according to Aubagne Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari.mirror.co.uk

The shooting matters because school shootings are rare in France, and this one took place while high school students across the country were protesting over classroom conditions and teacher shortages. Authorities said there was no connection between the shooting and those protests. The Marseille prosecutor's office opened an investigation for attempted murder, and the suspect's father was also taken into custody after weapons were found during a search of the family home.

What happened at the school

The pupil entered the school with a 12-gauge shotgun concealed inside a guitar case, regional officials told French media. Marseille's deputy public prosecutor Audrey Jouaneton said he removed the weapon from the case and fired at least four shots, including inside a classroom occupied by teachers and pupils, leaving a mark on a blackboard. A staff member responsible for extracurricular activities overpowered him and took away the weapon before police arrived.ynetnews.com+1

The principal, aged 53, was hit by a shower of pellets in the thighs and lower back, according to Jacques Witkowski, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône region. The teacher, aged 37, was struck by buckshot in the thigh. A third person sustained minor injuries. Neither of the two main victims suffered life-threatening injuries, and both were taken to hospitals in the area.

Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the boy injured the head teacher and the other teacher on the first floor, then went to the second floor and fired twice: first in front of a teacher towards the floor, and second inside an occupied classroom, hitting the chalkboard. Neither that teacher nor the students were injured, though they were severely shaken, Bessone said.

How the shooting unfolded

Two pupils told French television they heard a fire alarm and came face to face with the armed boy. One said he was a metre away with his hunting rifle and fired at the ground, and that they ran away screaming while he followed them for a while. Another pupil, Sarah, said the boy told her class: 'I've only come for the teachers, not for the pupils.'jamaicaobserver.com

All students were confined and made safe within seconds, Mayor Squillari said, and a psychological support unit was set up on site. Squillari said the children saw practically nothing because it happened in the hallway, but that quite a few were psychologically affected and those in a distressed state were being examined by a psychologist.

Investigators are examining the motive, how the boy obtained the shotgun, and how he brought it into the school. Witkowski said the suspect was a ninth-grade pupil with no known history of criminal behaviour or radicalisation. Squillari said the boy had been described as quiet, and that his father had recently requested a meeting with teaching staff, though the connection to the shooting was unclear.

What investigators are examining

Local police said the middle school was not affected by the high school student protest movement, and authorities said there did not appear to be a link with the demonstrations. French media reported the suspect said he was being harassed at the school, though that account was not confirmed by prosecutors. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Education Minister Édouard Geffray visited the scene on 12 October 2026.

President Emmanuel Macron praised the educational team's response, saying it made it possible to avoid the worst. Geffray called the shooting further evidence of the rise of unchecked violence in French society. The school was closed to pupils on Tuesday, 13 October, Nuñez told reporters. The investigation for attempted murder continues, and the suspect remains in police custody.