Slovak school headteacher calms student who attacked with knife

A teenager attacked teachers with a knife at a school in Slovakia: a 61-year-old teacher was killed on the spot, and two other victims suffered serious injuries. The school's headteacher stopped the attack — she locked herself in her office with the attacker and managed to calm him down before police arrived.

According to security analyst Radovan Branik, speaking on Slovak television, the headteacher's actions were professional. “I want to commend the heroic conduct of the school's headteacher, who acted in accordance with all the guidelines,” Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok also said.

The headteacher talked with the attacker in her office — it was he who had stabbed the 61-year-old teacher, causing fatal injuries, and seriously wounded two other people. “Despite the risk, the headteacher engaged the boy in conversation. She found a way to get his attention and managed to calm him down from a state of intense agitation to the point where he started asking for help,” Branik said. According to him, by the time police arrived the teenager was already behaving relatively calmly, and no further incidents occurred.

Twelve-year-old girl fighting for her life

The 44-year-old teacher is in stable condition after the attack, but 12-year-old Nelka is still fighting for her life. Slovakia's health minister said doctors at the hospital in Martin operated on the girl for eight hours, but her condition remains extremely critical.

After the attack, Nelka was airlifted by helicopter to the hospital in Martin in critical condition. According to available information, the attacker stabbed her three times, and severe blood loss caused the girl to go into hemorrhagic shock.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz