Knife threat in Dijon: the teenager placed in police custody, a medical-psychological unit set up

After attacking the principal of his college by threatening her with a knife, a 15-year-old teenager was taken into police custody in Chenôve (Côte-d'Or). A medical-psychological unit has been set up to support the students and staff of the establishment.

A tragedy surely narrowly avoided. A middle school student from Édouard-Herriot college was arrested by the police in Chenôve (Côte-d'Or), Friday March 15, after threatening the principal of his establishment. Aged 15, he attacked the principal of this college which has more than 300 students. As reported by Le Bien public, after being excluded from one of his classes, the student was received by the head of the establishment to whom he allegedly gave a letter mentioning a "hostage taking in reference to the attacks of November 2015 which occurred in Paris", reports BFMTV. While the principal read this writing, the young man took out a kitchen knife, before threatening his interlocutor with death. Managing to escape, the principal then triggered the anti-intrusion alarm.

Arrested by the police, the schoolboy was placed in police custody this Friday March 15 at around 3:35 p.m. for acts of “violence with a weapon in a school establishment resulting in incapacity for work of less than eight days” , “death threats” and “introduction of a weapon into a school establishment”. Described as a difficult student, the teenager had already been excluded from another establishment before being educated at the Édouard Herriot high school. At this time, the student has still not provided investigators with any explanation regarding his motivations.

The incident, which took place in broad daylight, created “a lot of panic in the establishment”, explained the rector to our colleagues at BFMTV. Upset by the events she had to deal with, the principal of the college, who is "still under the influence of emotion", filed a complaint, added the rector. If usually the school is closed on Saturday, it is exceptionally open this Saturday March 16 in order to be able to welcome students as well as staff within the framework of a medical-psychological unit. For her part, the Minister of National Education, Nicole Belloubet was quick to react. She thus "condemned with the greatest firmness" the threats made against the head of the establishment, while saluting her "courage" and her "cold blood", reports BFMTV. “If the matter is in the hands of justice, I have asked that all light be shed on this revolting act,” she explained.