Head teacher and teacher assaulted in Nice, mother arrested
A 36-year-old woman attacked the head teacher and a teacher at a kindergarten school in Nice with a firearm and a knife. An investigation for attempted murder has been opened.
Armed assault at kindergarten school in Nice
According to Le Nouvel Obs, an investigation for attempted murder has been opened following the assault that took place on Monday 1 November at Clément Roassal kindergarten school, near the centre of Nice. A 36-year-old woman, the mother of two children enrolled at the school, attacked the head teacher and a teacher before being arrested.
At around 9 a.m., the suspect presented herself at the school reception to request an urgent meeting with the head teacher. According to prosecutor Damien Martinelli, she threatened her by pointing a firearm at her and made accusations that one of her children had been a victim of sexual assault.
The head teacher was first slapped, then had her hair pulled. The attacker then put her weapon away at her belt before slapping the head teacher again. She retrieved her weapon and pulled the trigger while pointing it at the head teacher "without a shot being fired", the magistrate stated, noting that she had only two bullets.
The attacker manipulated the weapon to strike the head teacher in the face again. Before leaving the office, she placed a knife on the cheek of the school head. She then turned on a teacher she encountered as she was leaving the office, slapping her before pointing her weapon at her and leaving the school.
The suspect, a 36-year-old healthcare assistant of Italian-Tunisian nationality, denies all charges of violence. She had previously been convicted twice, notably for armed violence in 2019. No students witnessed the incident, according to Nice's mayor Éric Ciotti.
Arrested shortly after at her home, she was taken into police custody. A search of her home did not recover the handgun that was used. The investigation has been handed over to Nice's judicial police.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray described the assault as "intolerable" on X, emphasising that it "occurs in a context of the normalisation of violence in our society". The rector of Nice's academy, Emmanuel Roux, mobilised an academic security team and announced psychological support for staff.
Questioned by Agence France-Presse outside the school, parents of pupils expressed their support for the assaulted staff. Vanessa, mother of a child in the nursery section, described the attacked teacher as "a very kind person". Another mother said she was "very pleased with this school" and its teachers.
Source: Le Nouvel Obs