9/3/2024 Updated 13 hours ago|Source: ČTK, ČT24, Police of the Czech Republic
Events: Attack on Domažlice elementary school (source: ČT24)
At the elementary school in Domažlice on Tuesday, one of the students attacked her classmates with a knife. Two children were injured, and the paramedics have already released them for home treatment. “Thanks to the intervention of the teacher and the director, there were no further attacks,” said Deputy Mayor Viktor Krutina (Pirates). The police received the report around eight o’clock in the morning, then “took the suspect from the hands of the school director” unarmed, added regional police director Petr Macháček.
The principal of the school, Ivan Rybár, refused to comment on how he managed to prevent another attack so as not to disturb the ongoing investigation. “I received a notification from our educators who were monitoring the hallway, so I ran upstairs where there was some communication,” the principal said only.
“I thought that Domažlice was far from where such an attack would take place,” he added. According to ČT editor Kristina Marie Kubcová, the attack was carried out by a thirteen-year-old student against a boy and a girl. “We apprehended the suspicious girl within a few minutes,” she specified police on the X network.
Press conference after the meeting of the crisis team after the attack on the school in Domažlice (source: ČT24)
According to Macháček, the police received the notification on line 158 around eight o’clock, the first-line patrol was on the scene at 8:06 a.m. “Additional officers, including those from the Criminal and Investigations Service, attended the scene and will continue to deal with the incident,” police added.
One child who suffered a shock during the attack was also in the care of the emergency services. Crisis responders have arrived at the scene and are communicating with teachers so that they will be able to work with the children when they return to school on Wednesday. “The help of the interventionists was used by female educators who were the direct actors of the event, and approximately twenty children,” described the school director.
Both the police and the school principal rejected speculation that the girl who attacked with the knife was of Ukrainian nationality. According to Rybár, pedagogues used to work with her separately. But they did not solve any problem with bullying.
As the suspect and her classmates are under the age of fifteen, the police must respect the Act on Juvenile Justice even when informing about the case, Macháček reminded. According to him, the police will continue to investigate the crime scene, collect evidence and interview witnesses. The police will discuss the next procedure regarding the suspected girl with the child care authority.
The situation after the knife attack in Domažlice (source: ČT24)
Safety at school
The incident happened on the second level of the school, the police confirmed during the day. “Today (Tuesday) September 3, 2024, classes at the second level of our school were terminated due to an extraordinary event. Pupils were instructed about leaving school safely. All the children are fine. Teaching at the first level continues according to the schedule,” the school informed on its website website.
The school has a prevention specialist, an educational counselor and employs two special educators. There is a chip system and a doorman at the entrance to the school. Security frames would not have prevented the attack, the director declared. “Until today (Tuesday), I thought we had the school well secured,” he added.
“We believe that the chip security is at a standard level,” Krutina added, explaining that he first wants to learn the motive of the attack, then he will draw conclusions about what additional security measures need to be implemented.
The head of the security line, Kateřina Lišková, reminded that it is necessary to provide support to children who were directly at the scene of the crime, but also to all school pupils who may have feelings of apprehension and fear. “Even these children need to be told: ‘It’s natural in a situation like this to think about it.’ We should give it importance and allow the child to experience it,” added Lišková. According to her, communication between the school and parents is key.
President of the Association of Primary School Principals Luboš Zajíc on the attack in Domažlice (source: ČT24)
We don’t want to ignore the problem, says the Austrian
The President of the Safe School Association Libor Sladký drew attention to the fact that aggression among pupils is increasing in schools compared to previous years. “Schools often see the solution in the implementation of technology, but this case, for example, shows that technology would not help,” he pointed out. According to him, it is important for teachers to be able to perceive the warning signals sent by pupils. According to him, it can be a change of friends, alienation from the team or a change in the style of clothing.
“It’s a complicated situation, in this case it’s difficult to assess whether or not it was possible to increase the school’s security,” noted Luboš Zajíc, president of the Association of Primary School Principals of the Czech Republic. “There are too many people coming into the school without any way of checking them for a knife or anything like that. If a student decides to do a similar one-off act, it can’t be dealt with in advance,” he says.
He responded to the event on the X network also Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek (STAN). “I am very sorry for the events that happened at the primary school in Domažlice. Violence in the school environment is completely unacceptable. We are in contact with our colleagues from Domažlica and we are ready to provide them with all support,” he declared.
“My thoughts are with the injured students, to whom I wish a speedy and complete recovery, and with their families,” said the chairman of the STAN party, Vít Rakušan. According to him, recently there have been increasing indications of serious problems among children. “As a state, we are fully aware of this situation and do not want to ignore the problem,” he added.
