On Tuesday, a 12-year-old boy was arrested after stabbing and injuring at least five other pupils in the town of Azambuja, 31 miles northeast of Lisbon.
The student victims, aged 12 to 14, largely suffered non-lethal wounds to their arms, as reported by Azambuja mayor Silvino Lúcio. According to the Portugal Resident, one of the victims of the attack may have been a teacher.
One victim who suffered more serious injuries was taken to a hospital in Azambuja.
The incident occurred around 2:30 pm. The 12-year-old attacker had been carrying a concealed bulletproof vest and knife inside of his backpack as he arrived at school. He entered school premises, put on the vest, and began stabbing his classmates indiscriminately.
"He entered (the school) after lunch and started stabbing everyone he saw," Lucio told journalists at CNN Portugal. "There was no target, no objective... as the victims appeared, they were attacked".
Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the attack, saying that he hoped for a full and speedy recovery for each one of the injured students.
Condeno nos termos mais veementes o ataque ocorrido na Escola Básica na Azambuja e faço votos de plena e rápida recuperação aos alunos feridos. Tratou-se de um ato isolado e de um fenómeno estranho à sociedade portuguesa, mas que deve fazer refletir com sentido de…
— Luís Montenegro (@LMontenegropm) September 17, 2024
"This was an isolated act and a phenomenon that is foreign to Portuguese society, but it should make all those who work in public spaces reflect with a sense of responsibility." Wrote Montenegro in Portuguese. "The Government remains fully committed to protecting citizens and the institutions that underpin our country, such as schools."
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, also posted a statement regarding the act of violence to his official website.
"The family, like the school, the local community and other institutions essential to our common life cannot be dominated by violence, aggression, the violation of people's rights, of all people, nor can any violation of these justify violence." said the written statement. "And we must do everything we can to ensure that behavior such as that experienced today, involving the physical assault of colleagues, a teacher and another school worker, is not repeated."
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