MADRID: A 12-year-old boy has attacked and injured several fellow pupils with a knife at a school in Portugal, the German news agency (dpa) reported, quoting the newspaper Público.
A 12-year-old girl was taken to hospital with serious injuries but is not in a critical condition, the newspaper Público and other media reported on Tuesday, citing the authorities.
The attack occurred in Azambuja, around 50 kilometres north-east of the capital Lisbon. The background to the incident remains unclear for now.
The attacker returned to school after the lunch break and suddenly, apparently randomly, attacked several children with a knife, Público quoted Azambuja Mayor Silvino Lúcio as saying.
He was reportedly wearing a bulletproof vest.
A school employee intervened and was able to stop the attack, the reports said. The boy was held by school staff until the police arrived.
According to the mayor, the victims were five girls and one boy, who suffered cuts mainly to their arms and legs.
The victims and the perpetrator are being attended to by psychologists, the reports said. The young attacker has been taken into police custody for questioning, they said.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro condemned the act “in the strongest terms”.
On the news platform X, he referred to it as an “isolated incident” and “a phenomenon alien to Portuguese society, w
