New findings about the attacker from Spišská Stará Ves: He has been convicted twice in the past for assaulting and harassing female classmates

The inhabitants of Spišská Stará Ves and the whole of Zamagurje are still recovering from Thursday's (16 January) attack, which shook the whole of Slovakia.

A student, just 18 years old, attacked a local high school with a knife during class, killing the 51-year-old vice-principal and his 18-year-old classmate. Another student suffered serious injuries and underwent surgery in a hospital in Poprad.

The court also convicted him twice in the past

According to Aktuality.sk, the court in 2022 found the young man guilty of disorderly conduct and also of dangerously threatening his female classmates.

The assailant threatened one of them that "if he caught her outside, she would be as stiff as ice" and that he "would not stop until he destroyed her future".

He also stated that "when he saw her, he wanted to beat her up properly".

"His actions caused the victim to fear for her life and health, and as a result she stopped going to school out of fear," the final judgment said.

In the first case, he was given a four-month jail term for physically assaulting a classmate, which was also suspended for a probationary period of 18 months and he was banned from approaching the victim. In the second case, the court did not impose a sentence in view of the previous conviction.

It's a shock, says the mayor

The town's mayor, Ján Kurňava, told TASR that the tragedy has affected not only the school, but also the whole region. "It is still a shock, not only for us, but also for neighbouring municipalities. One victim was from Matiašovce, the other from Spišské Hanušovce and the injured student is from Spišská Stará Ves. It affects the whole region," said the mayor.

He recalled that Zamagurie had been a peaceful region until now and a similar tragedy had never happened there.

School remained closed, students receive psychological help

Professional support is being provided at the school on Friday (17 January) for students and staff who witnessed the incident first-hand.

"Today we have ordered a principal's holiday for both the primary school and the high school. There are intervention teams who will be working with students and assessing their condition after the trauma they have experienced. The next course of action will depend on that," Kurňava explained.

According to available information, the attacker, who had an individual study plan, did not attend school regularly and was not a permanent resident in the city. In the attack, he hit not only a classmate but also the vice-principal, who was in her office.

Police and prosecutors are investigating the motive of the attacker

After the attack, the youth tried to flee into the nearby woods, where he was detained by police after about an hour.

Police president Ľubomír Solák confirmed that several people suffered light injuries in the incident, but did not specify the exact number.

Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka said the perpetrator was "not an unsigned piece of paper" and his past would be investigated.

It is not yet clear what punishment he faces, as the legal qualification of the crime has not yet been definitively established. Investigators are working with the possibility of a particularly serious crime of murder, and a classification as premeditated murder is not ruled out. The motive of the attacker is still under investigation.

A number of eyewitnesses

The tragic event has a number of eyewitnesses as the attack occurred during school hours. Investigators therefore worked late into the night at the school, with the town's main street completely closed and traffic diverted to nearby streets.

However, police officers also intervened in the village of Ľubica, where the attacker lived. They carried out a search of his family home. Residents of the town are asking how it is possible that a gifted student, who represented the school in many competitions, was able to commit such an act. However, the answer to this question remains unanswered for now.

See the report on the attack in Spišská Stará Ves: