Pupil's mother stabs female teacher to death in front of horrified five and six-year-old students in French school

Killing took place on the morning of the last day of term



Morrocan-born mother, 47, reportedly has police record for child neglect

Reportedly screamed 'I'm not a thief' before stabbing victim in the abdomen



She attempted to escape but was arrested close to the school grounds

Francois Hollande described the killing as a 'horrific tragedy'

Victim named as Fabienne Calmes, a 34-year-old mother of two young girls



A school teacher was stabbed to death by a pupil’s mother in front of a classroom full of her horrified five and six-year-old students.



Fabienne Calmes, a 34-year-old mother of two little girls, died after being stabbed in the abdomen this morning, the last day of term at the Edouard Herriot school in the town of Albi in south west France.

The 47-year-old attacker reportedly burst into the classroom and screamed 'I'm not a thief' before stabbing the teacher in the abdomen.



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Teacher Fabienne Calmes - a 34-year-old mother of two little girls (pictured with her family above) - died after being stabbed in the abdomen at the Edouard Herriot school in the town of Albi in south west France There have only been four known cases of teachers being killed in class in France over the past three decades Mrs Calmes was stabbed in front of her five and six-year-old pupils Mrs Calmes' attacker shouted 'I'm not a thief' before stabbing her Police say murderer fled the scene of the crime, and evaded arrest for 20 minutes before being caught

Classroom horror: Children aged five and six-years-old watched as the mother of a fellow pupil stabbed their teacher to death in a classroom at the Edouard-Herriot primary school in south-west France (pictured)

Location: The killing happened at a school in the Lapanouse area of Albi which has 284 pupils aged three to 11

She then attempted to escape but was caught around 20 minutes later close to the school grounds.

The Moroccan-born woman, who holds Spanish nationality, has a police record for child neglect and not reporting a runaway child, French radio reported.

Claude Derens, the Albi prosecutor, told AFP, France's national news agency: 'This

morning a mother came in with a knife and stabbed a senior teacher aged 34 in front of the children, for a reason that an investigation will determine.

'When I arrived on the scene, they were still trying to revive her. She was in cardiac arrest,' said the prosecutor, who said Ms Calmesdied of her wounds soon afterwards.



Tributes: A woman stands in front of the entrance of the Edouard-Herriot primary school where flowers have been left after a female teacher was stabbed to death in front of her pupils

French prosecutor Claude Derens, pictured, said when he arrived medics were attempted to revive the victim

Emergency services were pictured outside the school on Friday

Onlookers watch as emergency services deal with the aftermath of the teacher's death

Benoit Hamon, France's education minister, paid tribute to Ms Calmes. Using her maiden name, he said: 'I want to pay tribute to the memory of Fabienne Terral-Calmes.



'She was 34, a school teacher, mother to two little girls, Romane et Adele, who have lost their mummy. And the national education system has lost a formidable teacher.'



President François Hollande described the killing as a 'horrific tragedy'

The attack took place around 9am at the school in the Lapanouse area of the town which has 284 pupils aged from three to 11.



The murderer fled the scene of the crime, and evaded arrest for 20 minutes before police found her near her home. The victim’s time of death was 11am.



Ms Derens said the identity of the attacker would not be released at present, but that she was aged 47 and had a police record.



The mother was last year spoken to by police about neglecting a child under 15, and attempting to delay a search for a missing child.



She is currently in custody, where she is likely to remain until a criminal trial sometime next year, when she will face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of murder.



France’s Education Minister Benoit Hamon said the whole of France was ‘deeply shocked’ by a crime which came at the end of the school year.



He said it highlighted the need to improve security in schools. President Francois Hollande also condemned a ‘horrible tragedy’.

President François Hollande described the killing as a 'horrific tragedy' and despatched Education Minister Benoit Hamon to the school.



A government spokesman said: 'All state services will be mobilized to look after the students and the personnel who witnessed this horrific tragedy.'



There have only been four known cases of teachers being killed in class in France over the past three decades.



French Education Minister Benoit Hamon said the whole of France was 'deeply shocked' by a crime which came at the end of the school year

The last was in 1995 when 51-year-old English teacher Michel Antoine was beaten to death in the south west town of Dax by two students, one of whom had just failed his exams. Both murderers ended up serving ten years in prison.



In October 2012 a father was sentenced to three years in prison, with 18 months suspended, for hitting a Lyon gym teacher with a truncheon.

