On Monday, October 12, around 9:25 a.m., a 14-year-old student fired a hunting shotgun on the grounds of the Lakanal middle school in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône) and wounded the principal and a teacher before being disarmed (Le Monde). The principal was hit in the lower body by a 12-gauge projectile (Le Figaro). Most outlets count two wounded, BFMTV three. On Tuesday, October 13, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) took over the investigation: it speaks of a “probable adherence” of the suspect to the True Crime Community and of a “criminal action” that fits within this ideology, which glorifies the perpetrators of mass killings (BFMTV, franceinfo). It is not known whether the victims were deliberately targeted (BFMTV). The teenager was transferred to the anti-terrorism sub-directorate in Paris for the end of his police custody, and his parents were released from theirs (BFMTV, Ouest-France). More than 200 people gathered in Aubagne on Tuesday evening (franceinfo).
The Pnat taking the case places the affair within the field of the terrorist threat even though the alleged perpetrator is a child and no structured organization is named: the True Crime Community is described as an ecosystem of digital communities (20 Minutes). The case touches on school security, access to a firearm and the online radicalization of the very young, a subject Le Figaro lists among the authorities’ concerns.
If you have a teenager around you, the subject is worth raising with them: the specialists cited by Libération and Le Figaro speak of a fascination that thrives online. For parents of middle schoolers, our sources do not yet mention any new national measure on school security.
For the Pnat, the middle schooler’s “criminal action” fits within an online ideology that glorifies mass killings and incites extreme violence; that is what motivates its taking the case.
The facts also call for caution: the motive is not established, adherence to the TCC is described as “probable” and not certain, and only BFMTV reports that the teenager mentions “revenge” against the staff.
Two words matter in the prosecutor’s position: “probable,” which signals an adherence that has not been demonstrated, and “fits within,” which describes an ideological framework rather than a proven motive. Until the charge retained is known, it is better not to read the affair as an organized attack. To follow: the outcome of the police custody, the procedure chosen for a minor, and answers on the origin of the weapon.
Le Monde · BFMTV · franceinfo · Ouest-France · Libération · 20 Minutes · Le Figaro · Le Parisien (Oct. 12-13)
Shooting at Aubagne middle school: anti-terrorism prosecutors take the case, the 14-year-old student is said to have “probably” belonged to the “True Crime Community”
Anti-terrorism prosecutors see in the teenager’s act the imprint of an online subculture that glorifies mass killings. The principal and a teacher were wounded on Monday by shotgun fire; the suspect, transferred to Paris for the end of his custody, has no established motive.
On Monday, October 12, around 9:25 a.m., a 14-year-old student opened fire with a hunting shotgun on the grounds of the Lakanal middle school in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône) and wounded the principal and a teacher before being disarmed (Le Monde). Le Figaro specifies that the principal was hit in the lower body by a 12-gauge projectile. The number of wounded varies by source: most outlets count two, BFMTV continues to cite three, and the figure of two is used here. On Tuesday, October 13, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) announced that it was taking over the investigation. It cites a “probable adherence” of the middle schooler to the True Crime Community movement and considers that his “criminal action” fits within this ideology, which glorifies the perpetrators of mass killings and incites extreme violence (BFMTV, franceinfo). At this stage, investigators do not know whether the two victims were deliberately targeted (BFMTV).
The teenager, whose police custody had been extended, was transferred to the anti-terrorism sub-directorate (SDAT) in Paris for the end of that measure; his parents were released from police custody on Tuesday (BFMTV, Ouest-France). According to BFMTV alone, he expressed “regrets” and spoke of “revenge” against the staff of his middle school: no other outlet repeats this statement and it remains to be confirmed. The True Crime Community, or TCC, is described as an ecosystem of digital communities born of a fascination with mass killings in the United States (20 Minutes, BFMTV). Researcher Alexandre Rodde sees in it, in Libération, an “adolescent fascination,” and Le Figaro devotes an analysis to this “neo-terrorism” that worries the authorities. The daily describes a universe that mixes a cult of ultraviolence, sexual abuse and mass killings. On Tuesday evening, more than 200 people gathered in Aubagne to support the educational staff (franceinfo).
What we know: the date and place of the shooting, the profile of the alleged perpetrator, the Pnat taking the case and the probable link to the TCC, as the prosecutor’s office puts it. What we still do not know: the motive, the exact number of wounded according to the sources, the teenager’s judicial fate, and how he obtained the weapon. Our sources report neither a formal investigation nor a precise criminal charge, and the alleged perpetrator is a minor. The Pnat taking the case designates the service in charge of the investigation; it amounts neither to a conviction nor to a demonstration of a motive. For what comes next, we will have to follow the outcome of the police custody and the charge retained.