On Monday, March 18, 2024, a teenager entered Joseph-Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, carrying a hunting gun hidden inside a guitar case. The weapon was described by eyewitness Audrey Jouaneton as a long gun that had been removed from the case. The boy moved through the school with the firearm concealed, setting the stage for what would unfold minutes later. A similar pattern emerged on Monday, October 12, 2025, when a 14-year-old boy was detained in Aubagne after allegedly bringing a shotgun concealed in a guitar case into Collège Joseph-Lakanal. In both instances, the gun was not visible until the suspect produced it from the case, a detail that underscored the premeditated nature of the attack.
According to local authorities, the gunfire struck a 53-year-old headmaster and a 37-year-old teacher, while a third person was grazed by the pellets. Prefect Jacques Witkowski later explained that the suspect, for reasons as yet unknown, fired at the headteacher, who was hit by a shower of pellets in the thighs and lower back. The victims were wounded in the legs, as prosecutors confirmed for the October 12 incident, and were taken to hospital with injuries that were described as non‑life‑threatening. The third individual who was grazed did not sustain serious harm, and officials stressed that none of the wounded were in critical condition.
Amid the chaos, a member of school staff acted quickly to disarm the shooter. In the March 18 episode, a staff member seized the weapon after the initial shots were fired. In the October 12 episode, a staff member confronted the suspect on the second floor after he had fired additional shots and managed to take the gun away before police arrived. This rapid intervention was highlighted by President Emmanuel Macron, who commended the composure and exemplary response of the teaching staff, saying it helped to prevent the worst from happening and prevented an even worse outcome.
The student who witnessed the October 12 incident reported that the gunman had said his intention was to target only teachers, not pupils.
Local officials, including Prefect Jacques Witkowski, arrived at the scene and confirmed that the suspect had no known history of delinquency or radicalization. Witkowski also noted that the victims were not in critical condition. French President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited the school following the March 18 shooting, with Nunez adding that the suspect’s parents had been taken into custody. After the October 12 attack, the Interior and Education Ministers also came to the site to assess the situation. In both cases, authorities opened an investigation into attempted murder, though investigators had not yet established a motive. The student who witnessed the October 12 incident reported that the gunman had said his intention was to target only teachers, not pupils.
14-year-old shoots principal and teacher at French school after bringing shotgun in guitar case A staff member disarmed the teenage gunman after three shots were fired at a school in southern France; The principal and a teacher suf... https://t.co/UfmfvqgLQj https://t.co/JxYYFRYOQi
The shootings took place against a backdrop of nationwide secondary school student protests. Officials made clear that the specific incidents were not linked to the demonstrations, even as approximately 130 secondary schools remained closed on the day of the October 12 attack. A fifth day of protests was scheduled for the following day, underscoring the tense atmosphere in which the violence occurred.
Eyewitnesses and leaders offered direct accounts of what they saw and heard. Audrey Jouaneton recalled seeing the suspect clearly remove a weapon from the guitar case, describing it as a long gun. Prefect Jacques Witkowski gave a technical description of the wounds, noting the shower of pellets that struck the headteacher’s thighs and lower back. A student identified only as Sarah recounted the gunman’s words: “I've only come for the teachers, not for the pupils.” President Emmanuel Macron, speaking after the March 18 event, praised the staff’s composure and exemplary response, saying it helped to prevent the worst from happening and prevented an even worse outcome.
14-year-old shoots principal and teacher at Aubagne middle school. Hid shotgun in guitar case. https://t.co/EDMND93eVt