School shooting in Aubagne: the 14-year-old shooter, profile and possible motives
A 14-year-old teenager wounded the headteacher and a teacher at Aubagne on Monday morning. The Marseille prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for attempted murder.
Aubagne secondary school: what we know about the 14-year-old pupil who opened fire with a shotgun
A 14-year-old teenager, a pupil in year nine, opened fire with a shotgun on Monday morning at his secondary school in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône), wounding the headteacher of the establishment and a teacher. According to cnews.fr, the incident occurred at around 9:25; the gunman was disarmed, overpowered and taken into custody during the morning.
The sequence of the shots
The head of education (CPE) neutralised the secondary school pupil after the latter had fired "at the thighs and lower back" of the headteacher, as well as "at least four times" in the direction of several teachers. The condition of the two victims is not life-threatening. The Marseille prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for "attempted murder" in order to establish the suspect's motive.
The parents of the minor were also taken into custody, according to information reported by BFM.
A pupil profile described in contradictory ways
The secondary school pupil had concealed his shotgun in a guitar case. He is not known for delinquency or radicalisation. Accounts from pupils gathered by the local press describe him as a "disruptive pupil" who "did not obey teachers" and who had recently requested a meeting with the head of education. Other classmates nevertheless describe him as "calm".
Some pupils describe him as "a soldier's son passionate about video games" who sometimes mentioned, "to inform himself", events such as "the Bataclan attack". One of his classmates mentions anger linked to an "incident that could have resulted in expulsion". Another pupil says she encountered him in the corridors after the alarm was triggered: he allegedly told her that he "came for the teachers, not the pupils" and that "anyway the teachers are a pain".
The lead of a conflict with an ex-girlfriend
Whilst hypotheses of school bullying have been raised, the prosecutor's office is pointing to another lead. According to accounts from pupils, not yet verified by the authorities at this stage, the teenager was at the centre of a conflict with his ex-girlfriend. She allegedly shared intimate photographs of the young man around the school, provoking his anger. She allegedly also threatened to continue distributing the images despite his requests for deletion, because of the mockery it was causing.
This information remains unconfirmed at this stage and will need to be verified in the course of the investigation. The secondary school pupil allegedly never made "any threats" in front of his classmates, according to the same accounts.
A link with the movements in secondary schools ruled out
One lead appears already to have been ruled out by the prosecutor's office: a connection with the protest movement currently affecting French secondary schools. The investigation continues to determine the exact circumstances and motive for the shooting.
Source: Google News LU FR