More gun violence in Italian schools. This time, the scene of the attack was Ferrara's Liceo Ariosto during what appeared to be a normal school morning. Around 10:15 a.m., a second-grade student, who had gone to the school's restrooms, was first pushed and then attacked by an unknown man with a six-centimeter-long diving knife. Only the young man's reflexes prevented fatal consequences, as the knife, deflected, struck his hands and arms, causing only superficial wounds. The alleged attacker, an unemployed adult from the province, was stopped and arrested by the Carabinieri in the early afternoon, almost in flagrante delicto.
The Carabinieri's investigation was crucial to the testimony gathered, the cooperation of the suspect's family, and the discovery, during the search of the young man, of a sheath deemed perfectly compatible with the weapon used in the attack, which had been seized that morning at the high school. The boy was therefore arrested almost in the act. Taken to the Carabinieri Provincial Headquarters in Ferrara, he was questioned by the prosecutor on duty. Following the preliminary investigation, as ordered by the judicial authorities, he was placed under arrest at a healthcare facility pending the subsequent validation hearing. The victim, a 15-year-old, attempted to defend himself from the attacker and forced him to flee. During the struggle, he was injured, fortunately with only minor injuries. He was taken to the emergency room at the Arcispedale Sant'Anna di Cona (Ferrara), where he underwent medical tests and was immediately discharged.
The Carabinieri investigation, coordinated by the Ferrara Public Prosecutor's Office, has ruled out any relationship between the victim and the suspect. However, the investigation continues to gather further evidence to fully clarify the circumstances and motives of the incident. All investigative leads remain open: from a mad act to mistaken identity, to a stabbing inspired by online groups. That same group had come under the scrutiny of investigators in recent days following other stabbings committed by young people against their teachers in Rome and Lamezia Terme. Meanwhile, the shock has also been profound for the many parents in Ferrara, whose children attend the high school every day, where no attack even comparable to this morning's has ever occurred. The school has not released a statement, but, with an order from the principal Domenico Marcello Urbinati, it has introduced more stringent procedures regarding student entry points, while also increasing the vigilance of school staff.
