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Suspect arrested after school shooting in French town of Grasse Suspect arrested after school shooting in French town of Grasse
(35 minutes later)
France issued a terror attack warning on Thursday after a shooting at a school in the southern town of Grasse. At least two people have been injured in an apparent attack on a high school headteacher in the southern French town of Grasse, police and local authorities said.
Reports said a suspect in possession of several weapons opened fire on the headmaster at the Alexis de Tocqueville school. One 17-year-old pupil armed with a rifle, two handguns and two grenades was arrested after the shooting at the Tocqueville high school, a police source told the AFP news agency.
Police said one suspect had been arrested and a second person was possibly on the run. There was conflicting information about whether a second suspect was on the run, with police initially telling AFP they were looking for an accomplice. Another police source said the shooter acted alone.
Grasse town hall described the incident as between two students and said it was not terror related. According to a statement from Grasse town hall, “two pupils shot at the principal”.
All schools in the town 25 miles (40km) west of the Riviera resort of Nice had been locked down, education authorities said.
Christian Estrosi, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region around Grasse, told France Info radio the headmaster had been injured but his injuries were not life-threatening.Christian Estrosi, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region around Grasse, told France Info radio the headmaster had been injured but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Le Monde reported that the suspect who was arrested was a 17-year-old pupil at the high-school. He was arrested at the school armed with several weapons and grenades. The paper said it was not clear whether those weapons were all operational.
Residents in Grasse were advised to stay inside and the French government launched its mobile telephone application warning of a “terrorist” attack.
The interior ministry said on Twitter that a security operation was underway and it would make further announcements through social media.
#Grasse Événement de sécurité publique en cours au lycée Alexis de #Tocqueville. Merci de suivre les consignes des autorités locales. pic.twitter.com/JTP62hmtG4#Grasse Événement de sécurité publique en cours au lycée Alexis de #Tocqueville. Merci de suivre les consignes des autorités locales. pic.twitter.com/JTP62hmtG4
This is a breaking news story. More to follow A crisis cell had been put in place, education official Emmanuel Ethis said on Twitter.
Ethis urged worried parents not to travel to the school, saying “pupils are safe”.
The French government initiated an attack alert via smartphone in the wake of the shooting.
Local officials said several pupils had fled and sought refuge in a nearby supermarket “which created panic and rumours of an attack”.
“The other pupils have been asked to stay in the school and not panic,” local officials said.
France is still in a state of emergency after a series of terror attacks including an Isis-claimed massacre in Paris in November 2015 in which 130 people died, and a truck attack in Nice in July last year.