A 14-year-old suspect, a principal and a teacher injured... What we know about the gunshots in a college in Aubagne

He opened fire in his own establishment. A schoolboy shot in the direction of the principal of his college and three teachers, in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône), Monday October 12 early in the morning. The principal and a teacher were taken care of and their vital prognoses are not compromised, said Matignon. A teenager, suspected of being the perpetrator of the shooting, was arrested, confirmed Matignon and the Marseille prosecutor's office.

An investigation was opened for “assassination attempts”, in particular to establish the exact circumstances of the attack. Here is what we know about this affair, which caused even the Head of State to react.

A student fired a shotgun

According to the first elements collected, confirmed by the Marseille prosecutor's office early Monday afternoon, a 14-year-old student, enrolled in third grade at the Joseph-Lakanal college in Aubagne, entered the establishment in the morning. He had a hunting rifle hidden in a guitar case. Corroborating sources tell franceinfo and France Télévisions that the schoolboy was equipped with several 12-gauge cartridges. It is “a hunting rifle that shoots buckshot,” said Audrey Jouaneton, the Marseille deputy prosecutor. “He got rid of this holster and took out his weapon”, around 9:25 a.m., continued the magistrate.

Then "the schoolboy fired once or twice in the common areas of the 1st floor, injuring the principal and a teacher, present in the corridor", details the prosecution in its press release. The teenager then went to the second floor of the establishment, and fired twice, first towards the ground, in front of a teacher, then inside an occupied classroom, the shot hitting the board.

The teenager was able to be restrained by a member of the establishment's staff as he came back down the stairs, before being placed in police custody. It was the principal education advisor (CPE) of the college “who handed him over to the police,” reported the mayor of Aubagne, Jean-Pierre Squillari. "My son told me that he shot in the air and told him: 'Pass, nothing is going to happen to you'", testifies a mother of a schoolboy to the Franceinfo channel. The students were brought to safety, before their parents were allowed to come pick them up.

A psychological unit has been set up and the victim support association is on site. The college will not welcome students on Tuesday, the Minister of Education announced late Monday afternoon. Young people will be able to go there on Wednesday for discussion times.

The principal and a teacher hospitalized, a third person scratched

The principal of the college, aged 53, and a 37-year-old teacher were evacuated to the Aubagne hospital and that of Timone, in Marseille, said the mayor of Aubagne. Both were hit in the lower body, franceinfo learned from a source close to the case. They have not yet been able to be heard. The Prime Minister's services clarified to franceinfo that the vital prognoses of the two injured were not engaged.

The two teachers as well as the students present on the second floor when the schoolboy fired were not injured but were seriously shocked, according to the Marseille prosecutor's office. According to the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters, one person was slightly scratched. On its Facebook page, the town of Aubagne specifies that no student was injured and asks to avoid the area "to facilitate emergency intervention".

The reasons for the attack unknown, no link with the high school movement

“A third-year student entered the establishment with a firearm, for reasons that are completely unknown to us,” Jacques Witkowski, the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône, declared at midday in front of the school. “It is an act which is not linked to the current movement” led by high school students, he clarified.

“He is not known for acts of delinquency or radicalization,” the prefect also assured AFP. According to a police source, this teenager, unknown to the police, says he is being harassed. He is “a child like any other, quiet”, described the mayor of Aubagne. Jean-Pierre Squillari nevertheless clarified that the schoolboy's father had recently "requested a meeting with the CPE". “We don’t know any more,” he stressed. The investigation opened for “assassination attempts” was entrusted to the criminal brigade of the organized and specialized crime division.

Parents of suspect in police custody

The parents of the arrested student were placed in police custody on Monday afternoon, a source close to the case told franceinfo. Several weapons, including some intended for hunting, were seized from the family home.

Still according to this source, the schoolboy could not stand the remarks of his teachers. The young person is currently being questioned in police custody.

Emmanuel Macron “welcomes the composure” of the educational team

The Ministers of the Interior and National Education, Laurent Nuñez and Edouard Geffray, visited the site on Monday afternoon. They were accompanied by Sabrina Roubache, Minister Delegate in charge of Vocational Education and Training and Apprenticeship, who was very moved while speaking to the press. “We need everyone and we will get there together,” she said.

For his part, Laurent Nuñez took the floor to thank all the people who intervened, but refused to say more, because “investigations are underway”. However, he called for “the greatest caution regarding the motive” of the schoolboy.

“We must carefully assess what it is when one of your students commits a criminal act,” underlined the Minister of Education. “It’s like a body, when you touch one part of the body, the whole body reacts,” he added. “Asking all heads of establishments to search bags every day is not possible,” continued the minister, insisting on “the basic contract which is based on the trust of each person”. “The security gates are made to prevent the intrusion of outsiders, this is not the case in this case,” he added, assuring that there were regular searches in this college and that a “gate this morning would not have prevented the student from entering”.

“Faced with this new attack, National Education will, as always, be united and strong, around a proven educational community,” Edouard Geffray wrote on

Emmanuel Macron reacted at midday. “To the principal and the teacher injured this morning in a college in Aubagne, to the students and parents in shock, I send my full solidarity and my total support,” he wrote, saluting “the composure and the exemplary reaction of the educational team, which made it possible to avoid the worst.”

On franceinfo, the president of the Bouches-du-Rhône Federation of Parents’ Councils, Christophe Merlino, said he was “stunned”. “FCPE 13 obviously provides support to those injured by the shootings and to the entire educational community,” he added. For her part, on franceinfo, Marion Chopinet, academic secretary in Aix-Marseille of Snes-FSU, the first French union of middle schools, general and technological high schools, reported a "shock" and "emotion that such an event could occur".