Police were alerted through the 112 emergency line at around 08:40 on Monday, 19 October 2026, about a seventh-grade pupil who had attacked a teacher and another pupil with a knife at the Ștefan cel Mare school in Bistrița, Bistrița-Năsăud county. The teacher, a female mathematics teacher according to Libertatea and HotNews, was wounded in the head. A classmate who moved in to protect her was also hurt and taken to hospital. Police said the attack happened during the first lesson of the day, and that the pupil had been transferred to the school from another one.
Vasile Șteopoaie, the school general inspector, gave a fuller account. The pupil knocked on the classroom door, and when the teacher opened it and refused to let him in, he attacked her with several knife blows to the forehead and the lateral abdomen. Her cries for help drew him into the room, where he kept searching for the classmate he had targeted until other pupils jumped in and one of them was struck with the knife.
Șteopoaie, quoted by Timp Online, said the pupil wanted to hurt a sixth-grade classmate because that pupil was of a different religion, and that there were suspicions of radicalisation in the case. He also said the investigation had been taken over by DIICOT. Edupedu.ro reported that this DIICOT involvement had not yet been confirmed in an official communiqué from the institution. HotNews reported that the motive was unclear at that point, and the inspector's account has not been confirmed by a police statement on the motive.
Șteopoaie put the event plainly:
“This is an extremely serious event.”
The county police inspectorate, IPJ Bistrița-Năsăud, said the pupil was immobilised by officers and is in police custody. Units from the Public Order Office and the Criminal Investigation Office of the Bistrița municipal police went to the scene, together with the School Security Office and the Special Actions Service. Libertatea also reported ISU and county ambulance teams on site. The initial police statement did not say how serious the injuries were, while the inspector said both victims had been taken to the emergency unit and were out of any danger.
Pupils in the affected class were evacuated to the gym, and several parents gathered at the school gate, where a teacher informed them of the situation. School management said that classes would continue according to the timetable despite the incident.
Police said their investigation is still working to establish all the circumstances of the event. Several points are still unresolved: the exact severity of the injuries beyond the inspector's account, whether DIICOT has formally taken over the case, and the motive as confirmed by investigators.
Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.
Support PollarSafety · Bistrița
Police were alerted at about 08:40 on Monday, 19 October 2026, after a seventh-grade pupil attacked a teacher and a classmate with a knife in Bistrița. According to the school inspector, the attacker had been looking for another pupil because of that pupil's religion.
AI text based on reports by G4Media.ro, Libertatea, HotNews.ro and other publishers. Published .