Romanian teenager attacks classmates with machete in second such incident in a week

A 15-year-old student attacked a classmate with a machete on Thursday, October 22, and assaulted another student at a high school in Pitești, southern Romania.

“Preliminary checks carried out by officers from Pitești Police Station 1 established that a 15-year-old minor allegedly entered the high school where he is a student carrying a sharp-pointed object and, during a conflict, allegedly inflicted a wound to a classmate's forearm and physically assaulted another student,” according to a statement issued by the Argeș County Police Inspectorate (IPJ Argeș), cited by Digi24.

Fortunately, no severe injuries were reported. The Argeș County Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU Argeș) said that one of the students had a wound on his right arm and was transported to hospital, while the other student had abrasions on his left hand and refused to be taken to hospital.

Police spokesperson Bogdan Ghebaur told Digi24 that the minor could be held accountable for his actions if an expert assessment establishes that he had discernment.

“We are talking about a 15-year-old minor. Depending on the expert assessment that will be ordered, if it is established that he had discernment, measures may be taken,” he said.

Police began checks to see whether there were any prior warnings about the behavior of the 15-year-old student attacker.

According to local media reports, the incident took place at the “Armand Călinescu” Technical College in the city of Pitești. A student who witnessed the entire event stated that the attack allegedly occurred against the backdrop of previous disagreements, according to ePitești.ro.

According to his account, there had been previous conflicts between the teenager suspected of the assault and several classmates, and the boy allegedly believed he was being bullied.

“At one point, they provoked him, and he wanted to take justice into his own hands. He came and started swinging the machete, but the blade kept slipping out of his hand, and he was hitting them with the handle,” he said, according to the cited source.

Ghebaur stressed that it is important for students to talk to their parents about such situations and for parents to stay in touch with teachers so that potential conflicts can be identified before they escalate.