Tragic news.
An Irish lecturer at a college in Paris was stabbed to death by a former student outside the college on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident took place in front of the private Pôle Universitaire Léonard de Vinci in the town of Courbevoie, located in the western suburbs of Paris.
The victim, named John Dowling, was a 66-year-old who taught an English class at the university and has worked there for 20 years.
He was stabbed by the former student as he left the college grounds for his lunch break.
The Minister for Higher Education in France has since released a statement following the incident.
Émotion et indignation alors qu’un professeur vient d’être assassiné au pôle universitaire Léonard-de-Vinci. Toute la lumière doit être faite dans le cadre de l’enquête conduite par la police judiciaire. Une cellule psychologique sera ouverte dès demain au sein de l’établissement pic.twitter.com/l3ZeymNtka
— Frédérique Vidal (@VidalFrederique) December 5, 2018
The statement claims that an investigation is now underway.
According to Le Parisien, the student who stabbed Dowling failed a college year in 2017, and was subsequently expelled from the college.
Pascal Brouaye, the head of the university in question, said in an interview with broadcaster LCI that the entire school community was shocked by the event.
He said: “It’s a tragedy that affects the entire community. He was a language teacher who had been here for 20 years and was appreciated by everyone.”
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