Shock and disbelief gripped the town of Trescore Balneario, near Bergamo, after a 57-year-old French teacher, Chiara Mocchi, was stabbed by a 13-year-old student inside a middle school just before the start of the school day.
The attack took place at around 7:45 a.m. in the corridors of the comprehensive school on Via Damiano Chiesa, near classroom 3A. According to early reports, the boy arrived at school wearing camouflage trousers and a white T-shirt bearing the word “Vendetta” in red.
He is alleged to have attacked the teacher with a knife, striking her multiple times in the neck and abdomen. The woman was treated at the scene before being airlifted by helicopter ambulance to Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo in critical condition. Her injuries were described as very serious, although she is not believed to be in immediate danger of dying.
The teenager was restrained by another teacher and two school staff members before being taken into custody by the Carabinieri. During a search of his backpack, officers also found a blank-firing pistol. Investigators currently believe the stabbing was an isolated act.
Emergency responders, local police and specialist officers were deployed to the school, while a team of psychologists was called in to support students and staff in the aftermath of the attack. The incident has reignited concerns in Italy over school safety and the growing signs of distress and violence among young people.
From a legal standpoint, the boy cannot be held criminally liable under Italian law because he is under the age of 14. According to local reports, the juvenile prosecutor’s office in Brescia is considering placing him in a residential care facility, as well as possible security measures, including supervised liberty, if he is deemed socially dangerous.
Italy’s Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said he had contacted the hospital to check on the teacher’s condition and described the attack as “shockingly serious”. He also renewed calls for tougher measures to address youth crime and the spread of weapons among minors, while stressing the need to combine enforcement with education and psychological support in schools.