A 12-year-old boy stabbed and injured six other children Tuesday at a school in Portugal, police said.
One child was seriously injured and the five other victims suffered light wounds in the attack at a school in Azambuja near Lisbon, Portuguese national police said. The victims were from 11 to 14 years old. Five of them were girls and one was a boy. The attacker was in custody, the police said.
A Civil Protection source told local media that at least one child was in a serious condition in hospital after the incident at around 2.30pm today. There were initial reports of a teacher requiring medical assistance, but it's unknown whether they sustained knife wounds.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro condemned the attack and wished for the quick recovery of the injured children in a message posted on social media platform X. He called it an "isolated attack" that was extremely rare in his country.
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"It was an isolated act and a strange occurrence in Portuguese society, but one that should make everyone who works in public space reflect with a sense of responsibility," Montenegro wrote in Portuguese.
An eyewitness, who is the mother of a pupil at the school, told the SIC television network of seeing "children covered in blood", and repeating "it was horrible" over again. The woman was unaware of the reason behind the incident, and explained that she grabbed her child and escaped as soon as she could.
Azambuja mayor Silvino Lúcio provided a few more details, explaining how an argument sparked the incident. After the row, the alleged attacker went home before returning to the school with a "bullet proof vest" and a knife in his backpack. Once inside the building, he removed the vest, put it on and took the knife out before starting to plunge the knife into his schoolmates. Lúcio claimed there was "no target" or "objective" and that the youngster attacked the victims randomly.
Lúcio said that none of the injuries were life-threatening, with many of them receiving stab wounds on their legs. One of them was stabbed in the stomach. He suggested that the bullet-proof vest belonged to the suspect's dad.
"Initial reports suggested GNR police had arrested the child. This may not be the case, as he is still a minor", Lúcio said. "What does appear to have happened is that the child is being ‘held’ in a room with the GNR as agents await the arrival of PJ judicial police, who will be leading this inquiry."
