Jewish schools fired upon in Montreal
MONTREAL -- Two Jewish schools in Montreal were hit overnight by gunshots, police said Thursday.
Staff members discovered bullet holes on the exterior of the buildings when they arrived Thursday morning. Nobody was inside at the time of the shootings, police said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the shootings, telling reporters in a Montreal suburb that Canadians must denounce violent antisemitism in the strongest terms.
"We are seeing an increase in threats of violence," Trudeau said. "That's not who we are as Canadians. We are a country that has done better than just about any other country at understanding and respecting different perspectives."
Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters at the same news conference that what happened at the schools cannot be tolerated.
On Wednesday, three people were injured and one person was arrested at Montreal's Concordia University after several incidents police said were tied to the Israel-Hamas war.
German school shooting leaves one dead
BERLIN -- German police said Thursday evening that a student with a handgun is suspected of having killed another student at a high school in the country's southwest, German news agency dpa reported.
The suspect, a teenager, was detained as part of a large-scale police operation earlier in the day in the town of Offenburg.
He had allegedly entered a classroom at the high school for children with special needs, and fired at least one shot from a handgun at a classmate, police said.
The other student was first treated by emergency services and then taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries, dpa reported.
"The police are on site with strong forces," local authorities said in a statement. "There is no further danger."
Police said it appeared that there was only one suspect and one victim.
The motive for the attack is likely to be personal, dpa reported.
The school was initially cordoned off and students were asked to stay in their classrooms for their safety, dpa reported. Later Thursday, around 180 students were led out of the school to another location where they were being counseled by special staff. After that, they would be able to return to their parents, dpa reported.
No further details were immediately available on the suspect, the victim or the weapon.
School shootings are unusual in Germany. However, the country has seen some shootings at schools over the years. In March 2009, a 17-year-old student killed 15 people and then himself in the town of Winnenden.
Rome to scrub graffiti in Jewish Quarter
MILAN -- Rome is removing antisemitic graffiti that was scrawled on buildings in the city's old Jewish Quarter on Thursday, which marked the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht -- or the "Night of Broken Glass" -- in which the Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria in 1938.
The graffiti, which included a star of David, the equal sign and a Nazi swastika, was being removed, the city said in a statement.
"Events like this cause dismay, enormous concern and (bring) to mind the period of racial persecution," said Alessandro Luzon, Rome's liaison with the Jewish Community.
In the northern city of Treviso, a private English-language middle and high school on Thursday suspended a teacher who made antisemitic statements on her private social media account. The H-Farm School said the "hateful language ... is the absolute antithesis of the values in which our school believes."
South Korea police clear robot in death
SEOUL, South Korea -- An industrial robot grabbed and crushed a worker to death at a vegetable packaging plant in South Korea, police said Thursday, as they investigated whether the machine was defective or improperly designed.
Police said early evidence suggests that human error was more likely to blame rather than problems with the machine itself.
Police in the southern county of Goseong said the man died of head and chest injuries Tuesday evening after he was snatched and pressed against a conveyor belt by the machine's robotic arms.
Police did not identify the man but said he was an employee of a company that installs industrial robots and was sent to the plant to examine whether the machine was working properly.
The machine that caused the death on Tuesday was one of two pick-and-place robots used at the facility, which packages bell peppers and other vegetables exported to other Asian countries, police said. Such machines are common in South Korea's agricultural communities, which are struggling with a declining and aging workforce.
"It wasn't an advanced, artificial intelligence-powered robot, but a machine that simply picks up boxes and puts them on pallets," said Kang Jin-gi, who heads the investigations department at Goseong Police Station. He said police were working with related agencies to determine whether the machine had technical defects or safety issues.
Police investigate the Yeshiva Gedolah school for clues after shots were fired, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 in Montreal. Two Jewish schools in Montreal were hit overnight by gunshots, police said Thursday. Staff members discovered bullet holes on the exterior of the buildings when they arrived Thursday morning. Nobody was inside at the time of the shootings, police said. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)
Students watch from windows as police look for clues at the Yeshiva Gedolah after shots were fired Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 in Montreal. Two Jewish schools in Montreal were hit overnight by gunshots, police said Thursday. Staff members discovered bullet holes on the exterior of the buildings when they arrived Thursday morning. Nobody was inside at the time of the shootings, police said. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)
Police investigate the Yeshiva Gedolah school for clues after shots were fired, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 in Montreal. Two Jewish schools in Montreal were hit overnight by gunshots, police said Thursday. Staff members discovered bullet holes on the exterior of the buildings when they arrived Thursday morning. Nobody was inside at the time of the shootings, police said. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)