On the morning of October 13, 2023, in Arras, France, a teacher was killed, and another teacher and a security guard sustained serious injuries during a knife assault at the Gambetta-Carnot School.
The attacker, described as a 20-year-old Russian national of Chechen descent, Mohammed Mogouchkov, was an alumnus of the school. Intelligence agencies had been monitoring him since the summer due to concerns about his potential radicalization. Mogouchkov’s 16-year-old brother was also later arrested.
Students on-site shared harrowing accounts of the assailant wielding two knives and targeting the teacher, later identified as Dominique Bernard. Displaying immense courage, Bernard, 57, attempted to defuse the situation, shielding his students and urging them to leave the area.
Amidst the turmoil, some students reported hearing the assailant proclaim “Allahu Akbar,” although this claim is yet to be substantiated by the police. The immediate response saw the school being put under lockdown, leading to a wave of anxious parents flocking to the site.
French Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, affirmed that the suspect was detained during a police intervention at the school. Further deepening the gravity of the situation, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has launched an inquiry, classifying the incident as potentially terror-related.
This distressing event surfaces just after President Emmanuel Macron’s plea for national unity. He emphasized the importance of the French populace steering clear of incorporating the Israeli-Palestinian discord into their national narrative. Intriguingly, this assault coincides with a call by the former Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, for members of the Islamic faith to observe a “day of Jihad” and stage demonstrations.
In the aftermath of this crime, official channels have instated a crisis response unit and are offering counseling services to assist the traumatized students and faculty. Additionally, they have made a request to the general public to exercise restraint and not circulate unsettling imagery linked to the episode.