14-year-old pupil arrested for stabbing teacher to death

A 31-year-old teaching assistant died Tuesday morning after being stabbed by a 14-year-old student during a bag search outside Françoise Dolto Secondary School in Nogent, authorities confirmed.

The victim, whose identity has not yet been released, was attacked with a knife and suffered critical wounds.

However, emergency services rushed her to the hospital in “absolute emergency,” but she succumbed to her injuries shortly after, according to a source close to the investigation.

The teenage suspect was immediately arrested and taken into custody.

A gendarme involved in the arrest sustained a minor hand injury during the apprehension, officials reported.

Education Minister Élisabeth Borne, who implemented mandatory bag searches in schools earlier this year following a surge in classroom violence, announced she would visit Nogent to “support the entire school community and the police.”

By late April, the education ministry reported that some 958 bag checks in schools had resulted in the seizure of 94 knives – nearly one in every ten bag searched.

DailyMail reports that Emmanuel Macron expressed his shock over the attack on social media, stating: “While watching over our children in Nogent, a teaching assistant lost her life.”

The French President condemned what he described as a “senseless wave of violence,” adding: “We all stand with her family, her loved ones, her colleagues, and the entire educational community.”

According to the rectorate, there had been “no particular difficulties” at the school prior to the incident.

They also noted that the bag checks had been planned well in advance in coordination with the gendarmerie.

In February, Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, announced that bag searches would be rolled out nationwide starting this spring, citing growing concerns over “a much more widespread use of bladed weapons” among youths.

She emphasised that the checks would be conducted by law enforcement, not teachers or school staff, “as this does not fall within the remit of education personnel.”

Earlier that month, a 17-year-old high school student in Bagneux had been seriously wounded in a knife attack in his school’s quadrangle.