A teacher was stabbed and killed by a student at an elementary school in Slovakia on Tuesday during an assault that left at least two others wounded.
After law enforcement apprehended a 13-year-old suspect, authorities told the public that there are no additional threats at this time, the Associated Press reported.
The suspect’s motive, however, remains unclear.
The stabbing attack occurred in Staskov, a small town near the country’s border with Poland and the Czech Republic.
The deceased victim was a 61-year-old female. The two injuries were sustained by a student, who is in critical condition, and a 41-year-old female teacher who had to be hospitalized, according to the country’s rescue service.
Prime Minister Robert Fico offered his “sincere condolences” and said he was monitoring “the tragic incident in the village of Staskov with great concern,” according to Euronews.
“Personally, I am deeply saddened by this,” he said in a statement.
President Peter Pellegrini said he was “shocked that this is yet another case in which a student attacked teachers and a classmate.”
“Aggression and an atmosphere of intolerance, spread primarily by social media and, unfortunately, by some politicians as well, are literally poisoning the public sphere and influencing the behavior of our children in schools,” he declared.
He also encouraged “all citizens to act in a way that calms the atmosphere, rather than further radicalizing it.”
“Such events serve as a serious warning to our entire society,” Pellegrini added. “It is all the more important that we pay close attention to the atmosphere we create in society. We need more calm, respect, and mutual regard.”
The suspected attacker is a student reportedly in eighth grade, between the ages of 13 and 15.
Police are currently investigating the matter as “a violent crime.”
This case is similar to a knife attack that occurred in January of last year, when an 18-year-old killed a teacher and fellow student, while wounding another at a secondary school in northeastern Slovakia.
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