A seven-year-old girl has died and a teacher and five other students were wounded in a knife attack at a school.
Police said the attack happened at 9.50am at the Precko Elementary School in the neighbourhood of the same name in Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday.
They described the attacker as a ‘young male’ and he was later confirmed to be 19 years old.
The attacker, identified by local media as a former student of the school, was detained by police.
Eight people – two adults and six children – were in the attack, with a seven-year-old girl succumbing to her injuries.
The teacher stabbed in the rampage reportedly suffered life-threatening injuries.
State HRT television said the attacker entered the school and went straight into the first classroom he found and attacked the children.
Police officers stand, following a knife attack in a primary school, in Zagreb, Croatia, December 20, 2024
Multiple children and adults were stabbed during knife rampage at the school
Video footage published by Croatian media showed children running away from the school building and a medical helicopter landing in the schoolyard.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at the start of the government session that he is ‘appalled’ by the attack and that authorities are still working to determine exactly what happened.
‘We are shocked, as is the entire Croatian public, with the horrible tragedy at the primary school,’ Mr Plenkovic said.
Mr Plenkovic said several children have been taken to various hospitals in Zagreb.
School attacks are rare in Croatia.
Last May, a teenager in neighbouring Serbia opened fire at a school in the capital Belgrade, killing nine fellow students and a school guard.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
