Girl ‘dies of heart attack’ after school put in lockdown when attacker stabbed two other girls

A girl has reportedly died of a heart attack after her school in eastern France was locked down when an attacker stabbed two other girls nearby.

The 14-year-old girl suffered heart failure as her middle school in the village of Souffelweyersheim, near Strasbourg, closed its doors on Thursday afternoon to protect itself from a knifeman, reported AFP.

The attacker had stabbed a seven-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl outside a nearby primary facility, leaving them with minor injuries.

However, according to an official, the 14-year-old girl endured a period of such severe stress as a result of the incident that she had a heart attack and died later in the afternoon.

Education official Olivier Faron said on Friday that the teenager “was rescued by teachers who were very fast to call the fire department. She died at the end of the afternoon.”

He added: “Sadly this pupil underwent an episode of very high stress that led to a heart attack.”

Speaking outside the middle school on Friday morning, a mother said her son, who is in his first year of secondary school, had also been scared during the lockdown.

Deborah Wendling said: “Whereas in the primary school they made it more like a game, perhaps here it was a little too direct. He thought there was an armed person in the school. They could hear doors slamming, but in fact it was just other classrooms locking down.”

Defending the teachers, Mr Faron said: “There is no perfect solution... [But] we will analyse in depth what happened. If there are lessons to be taken from this, we will take them.”

The two young girls who suffered slight injuries in the knife attack were discharged from hospital on Thursday evening, according to AFP. Police arrested a 30-year-old man following the incident.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office said a probe into the attempted murder of minors has been opened. It added that the motivations of the assailant were not immediately clear, although the attack did not appear to be terrorist-related.

It comes as tensions run high in French schools, with prime minister Gabriel Attal announcing a number of measures as part of a crackdown on violence committed by schoolchildren against their peers.