This chronological list of school shootings in Europe includes any school shootings that occurred at primary and secondary public or private schools, as well as colleges and universities, and on school buses. A "school shooting" is defined by this list as any discharge of a firearm on school grounds while students and staff are present for educational or work activities. Excluded from this list are the following:
Incidents that occurred during wars Incidents that occurred as a result of police actions Suicides or suicide attempts involving only one person.
Shooting by school staff are covered. For countries such as Russia or Turkey that straddle the border between Europe and Asia, this list only includes events that occurred on the European side of the country.
16th century
1590s
incident.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1595 Edinburgh, Scotland10113-year-old William Sinclair of Mey, a member of Clan Sinclair, fired a pistol from a window during a riot at Edinburgh High School, killing bailie John MacMorran. Sinclair was pardoned due to the intervention of his relatives, who had James VI argue that Sinclair was too young to be punished.
19th century
1870s
incidents.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1871 Saarbrücken, German Empire02218-year-old Julius Becker fired shots at the Saarbrücken Gymnasium, wounding two classmates. 1874 Yekaterinburg, Russian Empire101A gymnasium student was noticed smoking in the toilet by his head teacher Yakov Predtechensky, then after a decision to expel the student, Alexei Skachkov, he murdered Predtechensky using a revolver."Первый «колумбайн» в Екатеринбурге произошел в XIX веке" 1875 Oldham, England101A student named Worsley shot and killed a boy named Hamilton inside the Oldham Bluecoats School.
1880s
incident.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1885 London, England101As 9-year-old William Leach was playing with friends in the playground of St. Andrew's Schools in Plaistow, another boy, William Slade, fired a gun, accidentally shooting Leach in the head and killing him.
1890s
incidents.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1890 Oxford, England011Catherine Riordan shot and wounded University College, Oxford master James Franck Bright outside his college house in a romantic dispute. 1891 London, England00015-year-old Francisco Blanes and Fernando Maximo du Sousa, both foreign students at Tooting College, got into a dispute in the college ground after Blanes called du Sousa a liar. Du Sousa struck Blanes, who pulled out a gun and fired a shot, striking a school wall. Blanes was disarmed and arrested. 1892 Dundee, Scotland01119-year-old John Smith fired a shot at students inside Old Butterburn School, wounding a girl.Tarnopol, Austria-Hungary202As students were leaving the gymnasium, student Johann Schwed killed professor Felix Glovacki with a revolver before killing himself.Lytham St Annes, England011A student at Pembroke House School accidentally shot another boy in the leg with a rifle.Leeds, England10115-year-old Bertie Woods was accidentally shot dead in a school. 1893 Carlisle, England011A teacher at Christ Church Schools accidentally shot a boy through the lungs, believing the weapon was empty. Stockport, England011Student William Liddell was accidentally shot in the face in a room at Stockport Grammar School. 1894 Sherborne, England101While students Webb and Saillard were examining a revolver in a classroom at Sherborne School, the gun accidentally discharged, fatally shooting Saillard.Malvern, England101Malvern College student Felix Gabriel Richardson, aged 17, accidentally shot himself to death with a rifle as he cleaned it in his room. 1896 Leighton Buzzard, England011At the Collegiate School, a student named Powell discharged a revolver as he showed it to other students, critically wounding another boy, Collins, in the face. 1898 Edinburgh, Scotland10115-year-old Andrew Newlands accidentally killed 16-year-old George Sym at Edinburgh Academy. 1899 Dulliken, Switzerland000A boy accidentally fired a revolver in a classroom.
20th century
1900s
incidents.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1900 Kharkov, Russian Empire112After failing an exam, gymnasium student Iwanow shot and killed principal Tschanowitsch with a revolver and also wounded a teacher named Horkiwicz before surrendering to police.Die Rache des Gymnasiasten, Meraner Zeitung (16 September 1900) 1901 Geneva, Switzerland011A student shot and severely wounded a classmate during a lecture at the University of Geneva. 1902 Scheveningen, Netherlands011At the municipal school, a boy pulled out a revolver and accidentally fired it, wounding a student next to him.Droyssig, Austria-Hungary437A 40-year-old teacher shot and killed three students and wounded three others before being lynched by villagers.Schoolmaster kills pupils, The New York Times (9 October 1902) 1904 Imola, Italy011A school director shot an administrator in a school cafeteria in front of students. 1905 Moscow, Russian Empire202A student at a commercial school fatally shot his English teacher and himself. 1906 Uznach, Switzerland000A student handling a gun in a classroom accidentally fired a shot. 1908 Dublin, Ireland213Headmaster Augustus Windsor killed his wife Agnes and daughter Emily in their room at the Coombe Ragged Boys' Home before attempting suicide.Samara, Russian Empire000Two students shot at the headmaster of their grammar school, but missed. 1909 London, England011Gilbert Adams, a student at Alleyn's Grammar School in Dulwich, was accidentally shot in the arm by another student.
1910s
incidents.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1910 Arbon, Switzerland112A 15-year-old boy shot and wounded a woman at a girls' school before killing himself. 1911 Cheltenham, England101Cheltenham College student Edward Archer accidentally shot and killed himself on the school firing range. 1912 Suceava, Austria-Hungary202A 17-year-old student shot and killed his mathematics teacher before killing himself.Odesa, Russian Empire011A 16-year-old student shot and wounded his teacher at the local lyceum.Heilbronn, German Empire011An 18-year-old student stabbed himself with a knife in a classroom before shooting at the headmaster and a teacher as they intervened, missing his shots. He then shot himself and was taken to hospital, where he was expected to die.Bürglen, Switzerland011A student accidentally fired his teacher's gun inside a classroom, grazing a classmate.Sankt Pölten, Austria-Hungary101Rudolf Hlawat, a student at a gymnasium, shot at his teacher, Prof. Schmidt, with a revolver. He also shot at the school janitor before shooting himself twice in the head. Hlawat died in hospital, the only casualty.Revolverattentat eines Gymnasiasten auf den Professor, Die Neue Zeitung (24 September 1912) 1913 London, England01116-year-old Frederick Sauri shot and wounded 16-year-old Manuel Coello at Forest House School, Woodford.Porrentruy, Switzerland011As a 12-year-old student relieved himself at a primary school, a 14-year-old classmate shot him with a revolver, wounding him.Bremen, Germany5One by falling2126Bremen school shooting: 29-year-old Heinz Schmidt fired shots inside St Mary's Catholic School, killing four people and wounding 21 others. Another student died accidentally as she evacuated.Szeged, Austria-Hungary101After he had been reprimanded by his teacher, Prof. Horvarth, for missing classes, Johann Skultety, a gymnasium student, barged into the classroom and fired with a revolver at the teacher, missing him. He committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart.Ein Revolverattentat eines Gymnasiasten auf seinen Professor, Die Neue Zeitung (10 October 1913)Dublin, Ireland10123-year-old Trinity College Dublin student Edward R.M. Wright accidentally shot himself to death in his room.
1920s
incidents.
DateLocationDeathsInjuriesTotalDescription 1921 Helsinki, Finland101A student brought a gun to a lyceum and accidentally shot another student in the stomach. The victim died in hospital. 1922 Därstetten, Switzerland011A student accidentally fired a gun inside a classroom, grazing another student in the leg. 1923 Neuchâtel, Switzerland101A student accidentally shot and killed a 21-year-old classmate at a school. 1924 See District, Switzerland011A student accidentally fired a gun inside a classroom, wounding a girl.Zeist, Netherlands011A seventh-grade student at the Boys' School of the Brotherhood smuggled a revolver into the school and fired a shot inside a classroom, wounding another student. 1925 Wilno, Poland5Including two perpetrators1015Wilno school massacre: 22-year-old Stanisław Ławrynowicz and 21-year-old Janusz Obrąpalski threw grenades and fired guns at their high school, killing three people and wounding ten others. Both assailants died in the attack.West Lavington, England101At Dauntsey's School, 15-year-old William John Butler was accidentally shot and killed by another student. 1926 Tägerwilen, Switzerland011A student accidentally fired a gun in a classroom, wounding another student.Warsaw, Poland112A 19-year-old Stanisław Lampisz, a long-haired student in the third year of the State Secondary Commercial School for Boys in Powiśle, was suspended from school for one week after failing to comply with the orders of the 50-year-old headmaster, Mikołaj Stanisław Lipka, who had instructed students to cut their hair for reasons of hygiene and safety. After the suspension period, Lampisz returned to the school and asked to speak with Headmaster Lipka. When he was informed that the headmaster refused to meet him, Lampisz left the school building and remained in the vicinity. Later, as Lipka was leaving the school, the ambushing 19-year-old fired two shots at him on the staircase, striking him in the head and back. After realizing that Lipka showed no signs of life, Lampisz attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a small-caliber revolver. He survived the attempt and was subsequently sentenced on 26 May 1927 to five years of hard imprisonment. 1928 Schuinesloot, Netherlands000G. W. Kaemingk, head of the Special School in Schuinesloot, encountered a man outside the school as Kaemingk was heading inside for a school meeting. When the man, who was apparently looking for a person who was not present, became angry and began vandalizing the school doors, Kaemingk went to intervene. The man fired a shot from a revolver, hitting a door, but striking no one. A 21-year-old suspect was detained.Marburg, Germany011A professor at the University of Marburg was shot several times by an unidentified gunman. 1929 Hamburg, Germany101At a school in Altona, a student shot another student with a revolver.
1930s
incidents.