A teen who ruthlessly stabbed a girl to death and seriously injured several others at a school in France has been identified as a boy who “glorified Adolf Hitler”.
The killer has been revealed as a 16-year-old boy named Justin P, who made concerning “Swastika” drawings the week before the knife frenzy. The horror unfolded at Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides private school on Thursday afternoon.
He brutally knifed the 15-year-old girl, named Lorène, at least 40 times as she desperately screamed for help.
An investigating source said: “At around midday, the attacker entered a classroom looking for his victim, and then isolated her close to a second floor toilet.
“He stabbed the girl, called Lorène, whom he knew well, at least forty times. She screamed for help, before succumbing to her wounds on the spot.”
Justin P used two knives, including a hunting one, on three other teenagers, two male and one female.
“The first boy he attacked was stabbed around ten times, while another boy was wounded in the shoulder. The assailant then attacked another girl from behind,” said the source.
By this time, the school’s information technology manager had jumped in and had managed to restrain him until the police arrived.
Officers heard Justin P shout “Shoot me in the head” before they arrested him at gunpoint. He was dressed all in black, while wearing a balaclava and cycling helmet with goggles.
Shortly before the attacks, Justin P had sent an email to all 2000 pupils at the establishment calling for an end to the “ecological destruction” of earth, and complaining about a range of other grievances, including “social alienation”.
It emerged on Friday that he had also been summonded by senior teachers at the school last week after producing “Swastika-filled” drawings that “glorified Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.”
At the same time, Justin P also told fellow pupils: “I’m fed up, I’m going to take action in a week.” On Friday, the killer had been released from police custody, and was in a secure psychiatric unit.
A spokesman for Nantes prosecutors said: “The psychiatrist concluded that his state of health was incompatible with custody.”
French prime minister François Bayrou highlighted the “endemic violence” amongst schildren. He said: “This tragedy once again illustrates the endemic violence that exists among a segment of our youth.
“It leads us to ask ourselves fundamental questions in terms of education, the hierarchy of values, and respect for human life.”
President Emmanuel Macron reacted on Twitter and said: “A teenage girl lost her life, and three other high school students were injured, after a knife attack at a high school in Nantes.
“I extend my heartfelt thoughts to the families, the high school students, and the entire educational community, whose shock and grief the nation shares. Through their intervention, teachers undoubtedly prevented further tragedies. Their courage commands respect.”
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