Deadly stabbing sparks national debate on knife culture and safety in Italian schools.
An 18-year-old student died in hospital on Friday evening after being stabbed that morning by a classmate at his vocational school in La Spezia in the north-west Liguria region of Italy.
The deceased, identified as Youssef Abanoub, was originally from Egypt but had lived in La Spezia with his family for years.
The stab wounds to the student’s abdomen and chest reportedly perforated his spleen, diaphragm and a piece of his lung.
He underwent emergency medical surgery at the city’s Sant’Andrea Hospital after suffering a massive haemorrhage and a cardiac arrest before dying of his injuries in the intensive care unit.
Stabbing
The young man was allegedly stabbed by his classmate Zouhair Atif, a 19-year-old Moroccan resident of Arcola, near La Spezia, who was arrested on murder charges.
The incident took place at the Einaudi-Chiodo vocational institute after a fight – allegedly over a girl – began in the toilets before moving to a classroom.
The attacker was reportedly disarmed and restrained by a teacher before being arrested in the act by police who arrived on the scene within minutes.
Police also recovered the weapon used in the attack, a long kitchen knife that the assailant had brought from home.
Political reaction
Italy’s education minister Giuseppe Valditarra expressed his sorrow and condolences to the victim’s family, classmates and teachers, describing it as “a tragedy that deeply affects the school community and the entire country.”
In a post on social media, deputy premier Matteo Salvini wrote: “Shocking, painful, absurd. Too much violence, too many knives even among the very young.”
He also highlighted “a crackdown on blades in the security package we have already provided, but in addition to the law we need prevention and education.”
Salvini, cited by state broadcaster RAI News, also said: “Books, notebooks and pencils should be brought to school, not knives and weapons.”
On Friday evening, a procession of students, teachers and parents made its way from Piazza Garibaldi, next to the school, to the hospital where the young man died.
