Attacker and one adult die in Slovak school assault

SLOVAKIA - Slovak police said they killed a 22-year-old man who attacked staff and pupils with a knife at a school yesterday in an assault that left a vice-principal dead and four injured.

The police said two children and two adults were injured in the attack at an elementary school in the town of Vrutky, 220 km (140 miles) northeast of the capital Bratislava.

The attacker was then shot by police after fleeing the school, which is in a residential neighbourhood.

Police President Milan Lucansky said the attacker was believed to be a former student. “He entered the school by smashing a glass door. Then some staff members tried to block and stop him, and he used a knife which he had brought with him,” he said.

The attacker seriously injured a teacher and two students in one classroom before he ran from the school, Lucansky said. Police used their weapons after he resisted arrest.

Slovak elementary schools began reopening on June 1st under an easing of coronavirus lockdown measures. (Reuters)