Two Victims Confirmed and One Injured Student After Attack in Spisska

Bratislava, January 16 (TASR) - After Thursday's attack at the secondary grammar school in Spisska Stara Ves (Presov region), two victims – a student and a teacher – were confirmed, along with one seriously injured student hospitalised in Poprad hospital (Presov region), as announced by Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD). Police Corps president Lubomir Solak added that several individuals sustained minor injuries following the attack. According to Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka the attacker has a history. Solak explained that the incident was reported at 12.49 p.m. "A patrol from the police station arrived at the scene within three minutes, followed by other rescue and firefighting units, who provided life-saving measures and the suspect was pursued and managed to be apprehended outside the territory of the village in a forested area at 13.56 p.m.," stated he. The scene was secured and the case was taken over by the Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK). The motive of the perpetrator will be the subject of the ongoing investigation. According to the Police Corps president, post-traumatic intervention will be crucial, as the incident happened during school lessons when there were many people in the school. Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) promised that the topics of mental health and safety in schools will continue to be given thorough attention in the wake of this case. Drucker added that the suspect student had an individualised study plan, and after the semester, he was supposed to be tested. The minister informed the public that the school will be closed on Friday, January 17. Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka also expressed his condolences over the tragedy and guaranteed the legality of the process. "As for the attacker, he has a history, and I’m not referring to his excellent academic results. This will be taken into account throughout the entire criminal procedure," he added. He also stated that it's not yet clear what punishment the attacker may face, as the legal qualification of the act hasn't been definitively concluded. lin/mcs