Pupil kills teacher in Slovakia school stabbing, two hurt

A pupil attacked a class with a knife at an elementary school in Staškov, Slovakia, on 29 September 2026, killing a 61-year-old teacher and seriously injuring two other people. Police detained a 13-year-old suspect and opened a murder investigation. The wounded were a 44-year-old female teacher airlifted to hospital with a stab wound to the chest and a female pupil flown to another hospital in critical condition.independent.co.uk+1

The attack matters because Slovakia has now suffered several school stabbings in recent years, and because the government sent three ministers to the town within hours. Police said the situation was under control and there was no further threat to the public, but a motive had not been established. Education Minister Tomáš Drucker declined to say whether bullying was behind the attack.

What happened in Staškov

The school sits in the Čadca district of northern Slovakia, in the village of Staškov near the Czech border. Emergency spokeswoman Petra Klimešová said crews sent two ground ambulances and two rescue helicopters to the scene. The 61-year-old teacher died of her injuries at the scene, while the two wounded were airlifted to hospitals in Martin and Žilina.

Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok told reporters the attack began after the first lesson of the day. The assault took place at around 7am GMT on 29 September 2026. Police said the suspect was a 13-year-old pupil being investigated for murder, and that the situation in the village was under control with no further danger to the public.

The injured teacher, a 44-year-old woman, was airlifted to a hospital in Žilina with a stab wound to the chest after initial treatment. Health Minister Kamil Šaško said the schoolgirl was in a serious, critical condition in a state of heavy neuralgic shock. Šutaj Eštok later said the injured teacher's life was not in danger.

How the attack unfolded

President Peter Pellegrini said he was shocked that this was yet another case in which a student attacked teachers and a classmate. He said aggression and an atmosphere of intolerance, spread primarily by social media and by some politicians, were poisoning the public sphere and influencing children's behaviour in schools. Prime Minister Robert Fico offered his sincere condolences.

Education Minister Tomáš Drucker said the ministry was providing assistance and professional support to the school, and urged the public to avoid spreading unverified information and to respect the privacy of children and their families. Interior Minister Šutaj Eštok, Drucker and Health Minister Šaško travelled to the town on 29 September 2026.

Response from Slovak leaders

Slovakia has recorded several school attacks. In January 2025, an 18-year-old killed a fellow pupil and a teacher and wounded another pupil at a secondary school in Spišská Stará Ves. In 2020, a 22-year-old former student attacked a high school in Vrutky, killing the deputy principal and wounding five people. In 2022, a student attacked a pupil at a school in Novaky.

Police have not established a motive for the Staškov attack, and Drucker declined to say whether bullying was a factor. The suspect is being investigated for murder. The next step is the criminal investigation into the circumstances of the attack, with the injured pupil still in critical condition in hospital in Martin as of 29 September 2026.