Man Commits Suicide At Paris School As Children Were Leaving For Lunch

A man committed suicide at a Catholic school in Paris as children were being let out for lunch. Police are currently investigating the incident that happened in front of a schoolchildren.

The Associated Press is reporting an unidentified man shot himself in the head. The incident occurred on Thursday morning, just before noon, and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's office released a statement indicating roughly 12 students witnessed the suicide.

The shooting at Lycée La Rochefoucauld in Paris’ seventh district involved a man believed to be in his 60s, BBC reports. The man apparently entered the school with a sawed-off shotgun prior to his suicide. After the man entered the building, he proceeded to shoot himself in the head with the shotgun as children watched, BBC notes. The school houses a nursery school and educates children through high school.

The street where the school is located, rue Cler, has been cordoned off as police investigate the incident. Witnesses said the man was not stopped by anyone at the school and entered the building “without difficulty,” BBC notes.

According to Europe 1, the man had on his person several clipped-out articles from various newspapers. Police have gathered the clippings as part of the investigation. A female student who witnessed the man’s suicide said to Europe 1, “I heard a pistol shot; I saw all the blood.” Another witness indicates the street, close to the Eiffel Tower, was flooded by firefighters and police responding to the incident.

Parents and neighbors helped take of the children at the school, and officials report the school will set up counseling services for the school children, Europe 1 notes. As it is early in the investigation, police have not released further details about the man or the motives for committing suicide at the school.