School stabbing

A former student has been arrested after a teacher was stabbed to death at a vocational school in Germany.

Police found the 58-year-old teacher lying on stairs at the school in Ludwigshafen following the attack at about 10 am on Thursday, operational police commander Franz Leidecker told a press conference.

Officers had been alerted by reports of a fire. The victim was still alive, but died a few minutes later despite attempts to administer first aid.

Police overpowered a suspect, who was carrying a starter pistol and combat knife. The 23-year-old was questioned by officers and admitted that he had been angry at the teacher for giving him poor marks, according to public prosecutor Lothar Liebig.

"The suspect has admitted to the attack," Liebig said. "When questioned for his motive, the former student of the school said he was very angry at this teacher because of bad grades."

In accordance with German privacy laws, the man has not been named. He is being held in custody on suspicion of murder.

School was evacuated

The Rhineland Palatinate training college, which has more than 3,200 students, was evacuated and there were no further injuries. However, police said that it appeared that several other teachers had been assaulted.

German Education Minister Annette Schavan said that she was shocked by the stabbing.

"My sympathy goes to the relatives of the victim, to the teaching staff and to the students who have been placed in a position of fear and terror," she said.

The killing happened weeks ahead of the first anniversary of a school massacre in the German town of Winnenden. In that incident, a 17-year-old shot and killed 15 people before turning the weapon on himself.

rc/smh/dpa/AP/Reuters
Editor: Chuck Penfold