No serious injuries resulted from an attack at Borgarholtsskóli junior college in Reykjavík earlier this afternoon, RÚV reports. Six people were, however, taken to hospital due to minor injuries. The school principal says the community is in shock following the incident.
“There was a fight in the toilets and someone got a bloody face or something. Then some guys showed up with a baseball bat, knife, and wrench and just started attacking the guy,” described Heiðar Már Hildarson, a student at the school. The three attackers are young men and do not belong to the school community, according to Borgarholtsskóli Principal Ársæll Guðmundsson.
The Icelandic Special Forces were sent to the school in response to the attack. Hallways were evacuated and students kept in classrooms while police and officials secured the premises. Afternoon classes were subsequently cancelled and students sent home.
Ársæll described the incident as not only an attack on Borgarholtsskóli, but an attack on the democratic tradition of attending school. It is gravely serious that an incident like this can occur as we take for granted that schools are a safe place for all, he explained. “This is simply an attack on our society as a whole.”
The school’s normal schedule will resume tomorrow, according to Ársæll, and the students and staff will have a chance to process the events together and be offered trauma counselling.
Iceland Review will continue to report on the incident as more information becomes available.
