Student points replica gun at teacher in Modena classroom, demands his cigarettes

The incident

On 21 May, during a lesson at the professional programme of the Istituto Superiore Galileo Galilei in Mirandola, a group of students approached the teacher from behind. One of them pointed a ball-bearing pistol – a faithful replica of a real firearm – at the teacher’s temple and reportedly said: "Give me the cigarettes or I’ll shoot."

“Give me the cigarettes or I’ll shoot.”

Surrounded and unable to react, the teacher handed over his pack. The students then withdrew, laughing that it was just a prank. The entire episode was captured on video.

The teacher’s report

Afterwards, the teacher filed a formal notice in the class register, describing the threat, the weapon and the demand. He cited violations of articles 6 and 4, paragraph 2, of the school’s internal regulations and alerted the headteacher. The school has since declined to disclose any disciplinary measures.

A troubled school

The Galileo Galilei institute had already been in the news earlier in the year. During a recess period, a "boxing match" broke out between students, leading the school board to exclude those involved from the end-of-year assessments. The pellet-gun episode deepens concerns about discipline at the vocational campus. The case came to public attention on 13 June via the local newspaper Gazzetta di Modena.