The 14-year-old girl who suffered a cardiac arrest during the confinement of her school, following a knife attack on Thursday in Souffelweyersheim (Bas-Rhin), died, we learned on Friday, April 19, from the authorities.
“She had been rescued by teachers, who very quickly called the fire services. She died at the end of the afternoon,” academy rector Olivier Faron explained to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Thursday afternoon, an alert was launched by the director of the town’s primary school after two schoolgirls were attacked with a knife by an individual with a psychiatric history. “We have implemented the containment procedure. The teachers did it in an extremely precise and rigorous manner, and unfortunately this schoolgirl experienced an episode of very strong stress which resulted in this cardiac arrest,” said the rector.
“These are well-established procedures, we work very closely with the prefecture, we were present on site extremely quickly. There is no perfect solution, and we will analyze in depth what happened. If there are lessons to be learned, we will learn them. But the teachers really did what was necessary,” he said.
“We are devastated, speechless,” Georges Schuler, the mayor of Reichstett, the town where the schoolgirl lived, told AFP, adding: “There is an investigation underway, I cannot tell you if this young girl had a cardiac pathology or not. »
Reopening of primary school and middle school
The primary school and college reopened their doors on Friday morning, with a reinforced presence of the gendarmerie, according to Jean-Baptiste Peyrat, chief of staff of the prefect of Bas-Rhin.
“The mobile security team of the rectorate is present with many members, and the medical-psychological emergency unit is also present, with many psychiatrists and psychologists,” specified Olivier Faron. “The day will be dedicated to listening and showing solidarity to try to overcome what is a terrible ordeal,” he said.
The college will also be open on Monday, the first day of the school holidays, to offer reception and a listening service to families who request it.
The two girls targeted during the attack had “light physical injuries”, according to the Strasbourg public prosecutor’s office. The attacker, aged 30, was arrested. An investigation into “attempted intentional homicide of minors aged 15 (and rebellion)” has been opened. “The motivations of the main suspect remain unknown at this stage,” said the prosecution, which cited “psychiatric fragilities” and considered “that there is no evidence to link these attacks to a terrorist act.”
