Uproar in Tyrol

Pupil announced act: “I will kill you!”

According to the father, lessons continued despite the announcement - with a police presence in the classrooms.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Birbaumer C. Stock A)

Unbelievable scenes took place at a new secondary school in Tyrol! A pupil announced a shooting attack to several classmates. The police were alerted. When questioned, the boy confessed to having made the comments and emphasized that it was all just a joke!

"When my daughter came home from school last week, she said excitedly: 'Dad, you won't believe what happened to us today'," the father (name known to the editors) described in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper. And then she revealed explosive details: A video had been doing the rounds via Snapchat, showing a pupil (name known to the editors) with a gun, who is said to have announced a shooting attack - with the words: "I'm going to kill you all!"

"Lessons continued - with police in classes"
Police officers arrived at the new secondary school. "Lessons continued and, according to my daughter, police officers were standing in the classrooms - behind the pupils. That disturbed the children even more," says the stunned father, "the school didn't think it was necessary to expel the boy. I'm not aware of any punishment either. Don't we have enough examples in other countries to show the drama that such announcements can end in? You have to let it all sink in, it's madness."

One pupil talked about a video that had been sent via Snapchat. On it, the boy announced his plan.

(Bild: © prima91 – stock.adobe.com)

Since then, his daughter has been going to school every day with fear. "I'm also afraid that something could happen to her and that the pupil might carry out his threat after all. It's certainly not a far-fetched thought," emphasizes the father.

"Everything is swept under the carpet"
Why this incident has not yet been made public is a mystery to the worried father: "Everything is always swept under the carpet instead of informing the public. This silence is giving me a crisis, I'm really starting to lose it. Attention must be paid to this incident."

At least the school management had issued an official statement by email. "But in it, everything is played down and trivialized - there's no mention of the video at all," emphasizes the father.

"No intention behind statements meant as fun"
The "Krone" has this email, which reads: "Yesterday during the big break and in the afternoon during gym class, the pupil announced to several classmates that he would carry out a shooting attack at school today. Investigations by the police at the student's home and on his cell phone did not yield any concrete evidence."

The letter also states that the boy has confessed: "When questioned by the police at our school, the pupil confessed in the presence of his parents that there was no intention behind his joking remarks. The police and we assume that there is no concrete danger of an attack, but I would still ask you to be careful and vigilant." 

My daughter has been going to school in fear every day since the incident.

Besorger Vater eines Mädchens, das die Schule besucht

Information talk in all classes
I have tried to alleviate the justified fears of many children "by holding information talks in all classes". The pupils "received all the information they needed and were able to ask questions and express their concerns", emphasizes the school management. They also discussed the topics of moral courage and misconduct together and talked about how important it is not to rely on rumors and fantasy stories. 

"Pupils were probably not aware of the consequences"
He continued: "Every child will deal with this incident differently. Please talk to your children about the issue in a family setting. We want to make a good school day possible again for everyone. The pupil was probably not aware of the far-reaching consequences of 'misbehavior for fun'. With this information, I not only want to reduce your concerns about your children, but also avoid half-truths and false reports." 

Education Directorate: "Pupil is otherwise inconspicuous"
The "Krone" confronted the Education Directorate for Tyrol with this incident. "Consultation with the school management revealed that the 13-year-old was not actually at school on the day he had announced the incident," emphasized the Tyrolean Education Directorate.

As the police had come to the conclusion after questioning the pupil that he posed no danger "and because he is an otherwise unremarkable pupil", the school management had not considered applying for a suspension from the Directorate of Education. "However, the management did inform the responsible school quality manager who was at the school," the Directorate of Education informed.

Clarification and apology in class
The 13-year-old has been back at school since Monday of this week. "As soon as he arrived, the school management had a conversation with him. He then made it clear in class that his announcement was meant as a 'joke' and apologized for it."

The school management invites the student's parents to take up the offer of the school psychologist to clarify the case. "An appointment for this has already been arranged," according to the Tyrolean Education Directorate. The school psychology department will also work through the situation with the classes.

Police will forward report to public prosecutor's office
And what do the Tyrolean police say about the matter? "We can confirm the incident", said police press officer Stefan Eder to the "Krone". A report will now be forwarded to the public prosecutor's office, who will then assess the facts of the case. Due to language barriers, an interpreter was also present during the questioning. "In any case, the police took the case very seriously and treated it sensitively due to the pupil's age," emphasizes Eder.