SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) 鈥� A stabbing at a school in northern Chile killed at least one person and injured four others on Friday, police said.
The attack occurred at about 10:40 a.m. local time at the Instituto Obispo Silva Lezaeta, located in the city of Calama, in the northern Antofagasta region.
A 12th grade student attacked three students and two members of school staff, Chile鈥檚 national police force, the Carabineros, said in a statement.
Police also said that 鈥渦pon the arrival of officers, the individual was subdued and detained.鈥�
The school was evacuated and classes were canceled.
The attack resulted in the death of a 59-year-old school supervisor. No information on the conditions of the four injured was immediately available.
The attacker鈥檚 identity and age wasn’t immediately released, but Antofagasta governor Ricardo D铆az said that the assailant was a student. D铆az also said the student was carrying accelerant liquids, leading investigators to work on the hypothesis that the attack was premeditated.
D铆az described the situation as 鈥渆xtremely serious鈥� and said no details on the attacker鈥檚 motives was available.
鈥淭his is an event that has a profound impact and affects the soul of the people of Calama, as nothing of this magnitude had ever occurred here before,鈥� he said in an interview with local channel 24 Horas.
Armed attacks in Chile are unusual, though the country has a long history of school violence and is known for student protests that frequently turn violent. In late 2024, more than 30 pupils were injured in an explosion caused by the manufacturing of incendiary devices intended for use at a student demonstration in Santiago.
In May, three students were shot inside a school in the B铆o B铆o region, in what authorities described as the first shooting to occur inside a school in Chile.
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