A teacher in the Netherlands, shot at point-blank range by a pupil, has died from his injuries. Yesterday's shooting in The Hague came as a shock to many in the country, where gun violence is rare.
The pupil, a 17-year-old boy with a reputation for being a troublemaker, had reportedly had been punished for misbehaviour a few days earlier.
He fled the scene but gave himself up to police hours later, police spokesman Jan van der Braak said. The student's name was not released.
His victim, economics teacher Hans van Wieren, 49, was also the deputy principal of Stevincollege, a school in the city.
A student who was in the cafeteria where the shooting took place at lunchtime, said she first mistook the gunshot for fireworks. "I head people scream and thought it was a joke," said the student, who would not give her name.
Students were sent out of the school building and police initially cordoned off surrounding streets to search for the gunman with dogs.
Students said the teacher, shot once in the forehead, collapsed in a pool of blood and was taken by helicopter to a hospital. No one else was hurt, but counsellors were summoned to talk to upset students after the shooting.
The school apparently has a history of violence. Neighbours and students said police make frequent visits.
Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende said it was "unbelievable when you hear that something like this can happen in the Netherlands. Conflicts can arise, but you can't resolve them with weapons. And the fact that a teacher should be the victim of a discontented student - it's not right. You can't behave like this, you must not behave like this," Balkenende said.