12-year-old boy stabs and injures six children at a school in Portugal

LISBON, Portugal — Portugal was shaken Tuesday when a 12-year-old boy stabbed and injured six other children in a rare episode of violence inside a school.

Portuguese national police said that the victims were from 11 to 14 years old in the attack at the school in Azambuja near Lisbon.

One boy was seriously injured with a chest wound but his life is not in danger, Azambuja Mayor Silvino Lúcio said. The boy had been taken to a hospital in Lisbon.

The mayor said five girls suffered light wounds to their arms.

The attacker was in custody, the police said. No motive was immediately given for the attack.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro condemned the attack and wished for the quick recovery of the injured children in a message posted on social media platform X. He called it an “isolated attack” that was extremely rare in his country.

“It was an isolated act and a strange occurrence in Portuguese society, but one that should make everyone who works in public space reflect with a sense of responsibility,” Montenegro wrote in Portuguese.