Student, 13, stabs his teacher, 66, and attempts to 'livestream knife attack' at school in Rome
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By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A 13-year-old student pepper-sprayed his teacher before stabbing her and attempting to livestream the attack at a school in Rome.
The boy was wearing a helmet with his mobile phone attached to it as if it were a GoPro when he attacked 66-year-old Isabella Marsilio, according to local media.
Ms Marsilio was just one year away from retiring when she was ruthlessly attacked inside her classroom at Giovanni Verga middle school.
According to reports, the student attempted to film the assault in real time and broadcast it on Telegram, but it is unclear if he succeeded.
A heroic classmate leaped in and tackled the stabbing fiend, according to news agency ANSA.
Police arrested the teen and hauled him to the police station, accompanied by his parents.
Headteacher Wanda Giacomini said the suspect had 'always been a calm young man' without any behavioural problems.
But as yet unconfirmed reports suggest the youngster had been scrolling through 'violent websites' ahead of the knifing, according to La Sicilia.
A 13-year-old student pepper-sprayed his teacher before stabbing her and attempting to livestream the attack at a school in Rome. Pictured: Police standing outside the school gates following the incident
The boy was wearing a helmet with his mobile phone attached to it as if it were a GoPro when he attacked 66-year-old Isabella Marsilio, according to local media
Ms Marsilio was just one year away from retiring when she was ruthlessly attacked inside her classroom at Giovanni Verga middle school
The wounded teacher is not in a life-threatening condition but has been left terrified by the attack, according to regional authorities.
Marsilio later said she cared about the boy and would like to hug him.
'I regret only now understanding the depth of his distress. I was afraid I was going to die,' Ms Marsilio said in an interview with la Repubblica.
President of the borough Mauro Caliste said: 'She has been deeply affected by these events; she simply cannot make sense of it.
'We found her deeply distressed and understandably shaken by what occurred.'
Classmates claimed the boy had failed his English class and blamed the teacher for his bad grade.
'He did it because he had a failing grade and hated her,' students told reporters outside the school.
Just before class, the pupil put on a helmet with a video camera attached to film the frenzy and livestream it to Telegram, according to his classmates.
The youngster had been due to sit a test after failing on his first try, they added.
A teachers' union president said schools 'cannot be left alone' to deal with what he believes is an escalating crisis.
'We barely have time to reopen school and we're practically back where we left off: weapons in the classroom, stabbings, violence among students and against staff', Attilio Fratta told ANSA.
'It's become a constant, not a series of isolated incidents', he added.
Education minister Giuseppe Valditara said the horror attack highlighted the need for social media bans for children under 15.
He said: 'We must prevent children under the age of 15 from accessing dangerous social media platforms and channels.
'In this regard, the EU Commission's Kids Act is a step in the right direction.'
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