Six-year-old boy brings a kitchen knife to school in Trepuzzi, episode under investigation

There could be the desire to intimidate a classmate, showing the blade as a gesture of strength, after the theft of a toy or object in class, behind the decision of a six-year-old child to bring a 13 centimeter long kitchen knife to school, hidden in his backpack. The episode occurred in an elementary school in Trepuzzi, in the province of Lecce.

If the student had the intention of using the knife, of giving it to someone or if, as it would seem, it was a demonstrative, intimidating act, perhaps instigated by another classmate, social services and juvenile magistrates will be able to ascertain it. What remains is the gesture of a six-year-old child, which shook the family, the school community and the entire city, precisely on the days when in other schools in Italy, from Rome to Lamezia Terme, other students older than him brought knives to school, but with much more serious consequences.

In Rome in recent days a student stabbed a teacher; in Calabria another 14 year old allegedly planned to stab his Italian teacher. The episode which occurred in Salento dates back to Thursday morning.

It was the teacher who raised the alarm, alerted by a classmate of the little boy. A check in the backpack was enough to discover the presence of the bladed weapon. The management was immediately alerted and, within a few minutes, the child's parents and the police also arrived at the school, coordinated by the Lecce Juvenile Prosecutor's Office, as well as activating the social services.

According to what we learn, the child may have been pushed by a classmate to bring the knife to class, as a result of a previous quarrel with other pupils. The argument may have been triggered by the theft of an object that the child had brought to school a few days earlier. Before showing the blade to the possible recipient of the intimidating gesture, the child allegedly showed the knife to another classmate, who immediately alerted the teacher. What has emerged so far is that the gesture was not based on the desire to offend but, at most, to intimidate or probably defend oneself. The family, who have already spoken to those who are reconstructing the facts, are in shock and the parents have declared that they know nothing.

The mayor of Trepuzzi, Giuseppe Maria Taurino, intervened on the matter to "reassure public opinion and parents. The situation - he said - is under control and is being followed with the utmost attention by the school management in concert with the social services of the municipality and the competent authorities". "Having taken note of the sensitivity of the matter which, I want to remind everyone, involves minors, I invite my fellow citizens not to adopt alarmist attitudes. What happened - added Taurino - certainly leads us to shine a spotlight on a critical fact that cannot and must not leave us indifferent. The institutions in charge are working to reconstruct the facts that characterized this episode".