People mourn the death of a pupil stabbed to death allegedly by a teacher, outside of an elementary school in Daejeon, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Kang Soo-hwan/Yonhap via AP)
People mourn the death of a pupil stabbed to death allegedly by a teacher, outside of an elementary school in Daejeon, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Kang Soo-hwan/Yonhap via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police on Tuesday were questioning an elementary school teacher who allegedly stabbed a first-grader to death in the city of Daejeon.
The killing on Monday during after-school care has shocked the nation and prompted the country’s acting president to order school safety standards reviewed.
The female suspect was receiving medical treatment for self-inflicted wounds following the death of the girl in an audio-visual room on the second floor of the school, said Yuk Jong-myeong, chief of Daejeon’s western district police station.
The suspect, reported to be in her 40s, told police that she had recently returned to work after a period of leave for health reasons, Yuk said. She told police she has received treatment for depression since 2018.
After the first-grade student was reported missing at 5:15 p.m. local time Monday, police and family members searched throughout the school and surrounding areas. Her grandmother found her in the audio-visual room around 5:50 p.m. The girl was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Choi Sang-mok, who is the country’s acting leader due to , called for a thorough investigation into the killing and instructed education authorities to “implement necessary measures to ensure such incidents never happen again.â€
Visitors laid flowers and condolence letters at the gate of the school, which was closed on Tuesday.
