France School Shooting Updates: Grasse Headmaster Injured By Gunman At Tocqueville

UPDATE: 9:55 p.m. EDT — Though authorities have ruled out terrorism, the 17-year-old student arrested Thursday morning for a shooting at a Grasse, France, high school may have been inspired by a previous incident.

After a search of the unidentified suspect’s social media accounts, Le Monde reported he was interested in mass shootings and, in particular, the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999 that resulted in the deaths of 12 students and one teacher and injured 21 others.

UPDATE: 9:29 p.m. EDT — The student arrested for opening fire at a French high school Thursday had been linked to satanic worship after his social media accounts were viewed, Le Monde reported.

The 17-year-old reportedly fired at the Alexis de Tocqueville school’s headmaster, injuring two people. His name had not yet been released.

UPDATE: 9:12 a.m. EDT — A 17-year-old student was arrested Thursday in Grasse, France, after allegedly opening fire at a high school and injuring two people, according to media reports. The suspect had no links to terrorism and was previously unknown to French authorities.

He was found carrying several weapons, including two grenades, a rifle and two handguns, and France issued a terror alert after the suspect opened fire at the Alexis de Tocqueville school’s headmaster. No reports indicate anyone was killed by the shooting.

Originally, some reports indicated there was a second shooter on the run, but it has now been confirmed that there was not a second suspect.

Grasse, which is part of the French Riveria, lies to the southeast of the country, just north of Cannes and to the west of Nice, and is known as France’s top perfume producer.

Original story:

An unidentified man, or several, reportedly opened fire Thursday at a school in the French town of Grasse, according to media reports. One man had been taken into custody by police another could be on the loose, the Guardian reported.

France also issued a terror alert warning, though the full nature and motive for the shooting was still unclear.

There were also conflicting reports about the total number of gunmen. However, the number of victims has been confirmed: The school’s headmaster and two other people were injured “lightly,” BBC News reported, citing French television outlet BFMTV.

A police source told Le Monde that the shooter was a 17-year-old student at the Tocqueville school and was armed with several weapons, including grenades, a rifle and two handguns.

While French authorities sent out a terror alert, Le Monde also reported that the suspect was not previously known by officials and there was no link to terrorism.

The suspect’s computer was investigated by authorities, who found he'd been watching videos of mass killings.

Unlike in the United States, gun homicides are rare in France. During the terrorist bombings and shootings in and around Paris in November 2015, 130 people were killed; however, that is roughly the equivalent of the total number of people killed by guns on average each year in France, according to the New York Times.

French authorities had already been bogged down earlier Thursday at the Paris office of the International Monetary Fund. A letter exploded at the offices and one person was “slightly” injured, Reuters reported. Paris police said only that an “operation” was ongoing at the office, though Reuters noted the exploding letter followed Wednesday’s report of a “parcel” bomb being sent to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.