A press release from the Bas-Rhin prefecture indicated this Thursday shortly after 3 p.m. that an intervention was underway following the attack on two children near a school and a square in Souffelweyersheim. Both students were slightly injured.
These are two girls aged 6 and 11 who are out of danger. A first attack took place when classes resume, at the beginning of the afternoon, in front of the school Dannenberger in Souffelweyersheim and the other in a square which is located a little further away.
A suspect arrested
A suspicious individual was arrested by the gendarmerie very quickly after the incident, the prefecture further announced. An investigation has been opened, the individual was born in 1995. His profile, his motivations and the details of the attack are not known at this time.
A medical-psychological emergency unit has been set up within the school concerned for parents and children.
According to the general director of services at Souffelweyersheim town hall, who made the connection to reassure parents, the town’s schools were confined according to the National Education security protocol.
The MP for the constituency, Bruno Studer, went there. The rector was also there. A mobile security team, made up of four people, was also on site to provide support to staff.
The psychological unit will also be operational on Friday. The rectorate does not currently know whether the establishment will reopen tomorrow.
Children picked up by their parents
One of the children attacked was able to safely return to her family.
At 4 p.m., the school was still on lockdown, but parents were allowed to pick up their children.
All families have been notified.
After the doubt was lifted, the children began to be picked up by their parents, gradually leaving the school, class by class, in the presence of Jean-Baptiste Peyrat, the chief of staff of the prefect of Bas -Rhine.
“We had toand hide under the tables
Sarah, a mother of a student, “had her legs cut off” when her friend called her to tell her that gendarmes were surrounding the school. This other mother was also informed of the children’s confinement via the group WhatsApp parents of students. Her daughter, in CE2 class, says the alarm went off around 2 p.m. “We had to hide under the tables, and afterward we had free time, I didn’t cry,” she testifies at the age of 8 and a half. “We were very scared,” his mother whispers.