Overview
- School staff discovered the knife after a classmate alerted a teacher, and a check of the second-grader’s backpack on Thursday morning revealed a roughly 13 cm kitchen blade.
- The school immediately notified the boy’s parents, summoned the Carabinieri, and activated municipal social services to assist the child and the school community.
- The Carabinieri opened criminal inquiries that are being coordinated by the Procura per i minorenni di Lecce as investigators collect statements and evidence to reconstruct how the knife arrived at school.
- Early accounts under investigation suggest the boy may have been pressured by a classmate following a prior fight, but that hypothesis remains unconfirmed as authorities continue their checks.
- Local officials, including the mayor, have urged calm and restraint while institutions follow standard juvenile-protection procedures and the case may prompt local reviews of school safety and pupil support measures.