Croatians march for safer schools after fatal stabbing
Stay tuned with 24 News HD Android App
Several thousand people marched silently on Monday in central Zagreb, calling for better safety at schools after a seven-year-old was killed by an intruder.
On Friday a 19-year-old man entered a primary school in the Croatian capital and stabbed four students and a woman teacher. One of the victims died on the spot.
The man, who according to the authorities had a record of mental disorders and was a former student at the school, injured himself before being arrested.
The survivors of the attack were being treated at Zagreb hospitals and their condition was said to be stable.
"For safe school," read a giant banner carried by people leading the march on Monday evening, as candles were lit in front of schools in other major Croatian cities.
Placards read "We want to be light of society and not carry candles" and "When one mother cries all mothers cry".
Zeljko Stipic, head of one of three education sector trade unions that organised the walk, described it as a "sad procession".
Denis Dvorzak, who has two primary school-age children, told AFP he joined the march to voice his "dissatisfaction with the way certain systems function".
However, he voiced hope that the "moment will come when things will start moving in our country... without anyone having to walk or protest".
Pensioner Goranka Samson, who mourned a "tragedy and the lost of a young life", hopes that the "mass of people will send a message to the authorities.
"We have to be here," she said.
The parents council of the school where the attack happened said Saturday that the incident exposed crucial flaws in the existing system.
Education Minister Radovan Fuchs earlier on Monday announced immediate safety measures at schools, including obligatory locking and change of locks so the entrance doors cannot be open from the outside.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said the engagement of protection agencies at schools would be considered.
"The safety of children is the most important thing and the goal is to have equal standards in all schools across the country," he said.