It has been reported that a student fatally stabbed a teacher at a school in southwest France.
According to local media sources, the Spanish teacher was killed in the incident this morning in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, close to Bordeaux.
Police arrived at the prestigious Saint-Thomas d’Aquin high school quickly after the pupil was taken into custody.
According to reports, the 16-year-old student took the knife out of their bag before stabbing the instructor in the middle of a lecture.
While the motive is yet to be established, LeMonde reported they may have been suffering from mental health issues.
Neither the attacker, nor the victim have been named by authorities.
Pap Ndiaye, the French education minister, confirmed he was on his way to Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
He said in a statement on Twitter: ‘Immense emotion following the death today of a teacher at Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin high school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
‘My thoughts go to their family, colleagues and students.’
Pyrénées-Atlantiques senator Frédérique Espagnac said she ‘totally condemns this act of violence against a teacher’.
Meanwhile, local prosecutor Jerome Bourrier confirmed a murder enquiry has been opened.
French government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, told reporters during a press conference the government would support educators across the country in the wake of the incident.
‘I can hardly imagine the trauma that this can represent,’ he said.