13-year-old schoolboy kills teacher, injures two in Slovakia school attack

A 13-year-old schoolboy has been detained after allegedly killing a teacher and injuring another teacher and a pupil in a knife attack at a school in northwestern Slovakia.

The attack occurred at about 0700 GMT on Tuesday in the village of Staskov, near the Czech border, according to authorities.

Police said the teenager was being investigated for “premeditated murder” after he allegedly launched the attack with a knife following the first class of the day.

“This morning, after the first class, a school pupil launched a knife attack,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters.

A 61-year-old woman died from her injuries, while a 44-year-old woman sustained “a stab wound to the chest” and was taken to hospital, emergency service spokeswoman Petra Klimesova said.

A schoolgirl was also hospitalised and was reported to be “in a serious, critical condition” following the attack, Health Minister Kamil Sasko told reporters.

Sutaj Estok later said the injured teacher was not in a life-threatening condition.

Police said the situation in Staskov was “under control”, while authorities continued investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Education Minister Tomas Drucker declined to say whether bullying was linked to the incident when questioned by journalists.

Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed his “sincere condolences” to the victims and their families, saying he was following “the tragic incident in the village of Staskov with great concern.”

“Personally, I am deeply saddened by this,” he said in a statement.

President Peter Pellegrini also said he was “shocked that this is yet another case in which a student attacked teachers and a classmate.”

“Aggression and an atmosphere of intolerance — spread primarily by social media and, unfortunately, by some politicians as well — are literally poisoning the public sphere and influencing the behaviour of our children in schools,” he said.

He urged “all citizens to act in a way that calms the atmosphere, rather than further radicalising it.”

The attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents at Slovak schools.

In January 2025, an 18-year-old student killed a fellow pupil and a teacher in a knife attack and injured another pupil at a secondary school in Spisska Stara Ves in northeastern Slovakia.

In 2020, a teacher was stabbed to death and several other people were wounded at an elementary school in central Slovakia.

Authorities have not immediately disclosed a motive for Tuesday’s attack. The investigation remains ongoing.

(APNEWS)