French Prosecutors Investigate Teenager in School Shooting

French anti-terror prosecutors have opened a judicial investigation into a school shooting that wounded a principal and a teacher, requesting pretrial detention for the 14-year-old suspect. The investigation includes charges of attempted premeditated murder linked to terrorism, terrorist conspiracy, and weapons offenses.

The teenage suspect has acknowledged carrying out the attack at Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, and told investigators he had been planning it for several months, though he denied intending to kill. He stated a desire for revenge for bullying by teachers and classmates, an allegation that prosecutors have not yet corroborated.

Investigators discovered a digital account belonging to the suspect dedicated to reposting extremely violent material, particularly related to school shootings, within a community that glorifies mass killers and encourages imitation. While the boy admitted being influenced by this online network, he denied acting on its behalf.

Prosecutors cited the premeditation, the use of a firearm inside a school, and the repeated shots directed at staff as reasons for investigating the attack as terrorism. According to their account, the boy entered the school with a shotgun concealed in a guitar case. He fired at the principal and a teacher before proceeding upstairs, where he fired into the floor in front of another teacher and then into an occupied classroom.

The principal sustained injuries that are not considered life-threatening and remains hospitalized, while the wounded teacher has been discharged. A staff member managed to subdue and disarm the suspect as he descended the stairs after other staff helped evacuate pupils and colleagues.

The suspect has no prior criminal record, and an initial psychological examination did not identify any mental disorders, according to the prosecutor's office.