Moravian town in shock after intruder stabs student to death

The small town of Žďár nad Sázavou in the Vysošina region of the Czech Republic was thrown into deep shock on Tuesday morning following a savage knife attack on a secondary school that left one student dead and two others injured. The alleged perpetrator – a 26-year-old woman from the Ostrava region – is now in custody.

Photo: CTK

It’s a town of around 20,000 inhabitants, known for its Gothic church and active cultural life. But early on Tuesday morning, Žďár nad Sázavou bore witness to the kind of seemingly random act of violence rarely seen anywhere in the Czech Republic. The Trade and Services Secondary School, located in the north-east of the town, which specializes in providing vocational educations to teenagers, was visited by a knife-wielding intruder in the early morning hours. Vysočina region Chief of Police Radek Malíř made the following statement to the press before noon:

“A woman, who is not from this region, but rather from Ostrava region, broke in to the school, and essentially randomly picked out a victim, whom she attacked with a knife. This was a young man, 16 years of age. Two 17-year-old students were also subsequently injured. The police then intervened, and the perpetrator was apprehended. During this intervention, a police officer was injured. All the injuries were stab wounds.”

Photo: CTK

The full details continue to emerge, but what has been revealed is that at around 7:30am a 26-year-old woman, apparently unconnected with the school, managed to slip past the chip-based door entry system at the school’s main entrance by mingling with other students. Once inside, she began attacking a female student with a knife. A 16-year-old male came to the student’s aid and was killed in the altercation. Another female student was then taken hostage.

Soon after, a rapid response police unit arrived on the scene. Negotiations began, and the perpetrator was eventually tasered. But not before an officer managed to sustain knife injuries. The woman, who has not yet been named, is now in police custody. Unconfirmed reports suggest witnesses sensed she was on drugs, while other reports have emerged suggesting that she was a schizophrenic recidivist, who had carried out a stabbing two years previously at an elementary school in Havířov. Both female students are now being treated at Nové Město na Moravě Hospital - one reportedly has more serious injuries - with a third female student from the school also admitted for shock. The injured police officer is also receiving treatment.

Ironically, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was due to attend a post-election event inthe town, which was subsequently cancelled. Meanwhile, the Czech Minister of Education Marcel Chládek promised to send inspectors to the school to investigate the security lapses which had occurred there. And in an interview with Czech Television, Ždar mayor Dagmar Zvěřinová spoke of the mood of shock that this seemingly random attack has caused in this community:

Photo: CTK

“This is sadly an unbelievable tragedy, which has deeply shaken this town. I just visited the school and saw desperate parents arriving, wondering if their child had been injured. We will be offering such parents specific support in the coming days – whether that means organisational, financial, or psychological. I can’t help but view this as a mother: you send your child to school and suddenly they call and tell you that your child is dead. It is just unthinkable that something like this could happen in our society. We will evidently have to protect our children better, because even something like this can happen in the Czech Republic.”