BUCHAREST, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Romanian President Nicusor Dan called on the government on Thursday to ensure children’s safety in the classroom and online after two violent attacks in schools in less than a week.
Police said a 15-year-old had attacked two classmates with a machete on Thursday in a bathroom of their high school in the central Romanian city of Pitesti.
On Monday, a 13-year-old schoolboy stabbed and wounded a teacher and another pupil. Local media reported that he had posted about his plans on social media shortly before the attack.
“Two signals that we can no longer afford to ignore,” Dan said in a post on X.
“We need safer schools, supported and prepared teachers to intervene, real access to psychological counseling, but also measures for the protection of minors in using the online space,” the centrist president added.
Romania’s newly installed government will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss school safety measures.
Schools in Europe have faced a string of attacks this year in countries including Poland, France and Sweden, with authorities in some cases pointing to the role of social media and online subcultures that glorify murder in fomenting the violence.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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