Teacher stabbed to death by 16-year-old student “possessed by the devil” during Spanish class at French school

A teacher at a school in southwest France was stabbed to death by a student in front of a full class, prosecutors have confirmed.

The 50-year-old Spanish teacher was teaching at the Saint-Thomas d’Aquin Roman Catholic private school in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, near Bordeaux, early this morning when a 16-year-old student burst in. and attacked her with a knife.

She received first aid at the scene, but Bayonne prosecutor Jerome Bourrier told AFP she died of her injuries.

“A Spanish class was in progress when the student launched a frenzied attack on the teacher,” an investigating source said, adding that the attack took place around 10am local time.

“She was stabbed in the chest,” they said.

Local media reported that the student may have had mental health issues and was unknown to police before the attack.

Sources told French broadcasters BFMTV and le Parisien that the student “heard voices” when he launched the attack and that the student himself admitted to police that he was “possessed by the devil” when he was arrested.

He was taken to the Saint-Jean-de-Luz police station and remains in custody. Officials said there is no indication at this stage of the investigation that the incident is related to terrorism.

Police enter a private Catholic school after a teacher was stabbed to death by a high school student on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, southwestern France.

Worried parents gather outside the school where the deadly attack took place this morning

The Spanish teacher, in her 50s, taught at the Saint-Thomas d’Aquin Roman Catholic private school (pictured) in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz this morning

My thoughts are with the family, colleagues and students. I will go straight to the website,” said Education Minister Pap Ndiaye.

Senator Frédérique Espagnac, who represents the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region where the school is located, said she “strongly condemns this act of violence against a teacher”.

The victim had taught at the school for “a number of years” and was “liked and respected,” a source told MailOnline.

The private school, which has about 1,000 pupils, was closed immediately after the attack until the student attacker was taken away by the police.

“Other students are aware that the attacker had mental health issues,” the source said, adding that special forces had been deployed to look after the “mental well-being” of everyone involved at the school.

“I can hardly imagine the trauma it causes at the local level and more generally at the national level,” said Olivier Veran, government spokesman.

Other officials compared the tragedy to the death of Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, who was stabbed and beheaded in 2020 by a teenager near his school in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris.

“It’s a shock. A tragedy reminiscent of the murder of Samuel Paty and other incidents of violence against teachers that ended less tragically,” said Stéphane Crochet, general secretary of the UNSA teachers union.

“Our thoughts go out to the family of the victim and the entire educational community.”

The Saint-Thomas d’Aquin school is located in Saint Jean de Luz, a popular seaside resort near Bordeaux

The aerial photo shows the Saint Thomas d’Aquin school, the scene of today’s gruesome stabbing

The tragedy happened in the port city of Saint Jean de Luz, a popular tourist destination on the Atlantic coast