Calama school stabbing
| Calama school stabbing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Calama, Antofagasta Region, Chile |
| Date | 27 March 2026 c. 10:30 a.m. |
| Target | Fundación Educacional Obispo Luis Silva Lezaeta |
Attack type | School stabbing, mass stabbing |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 5 (including the suspect) |
| Motive | Under investigation |
| Accused | Hernán Meneses Leal |
| Charges |
|
On 27 March 2026, an 18-year-old student allegedly carried out a mass stabbing at the Bishop Luis Silva Lezaeta Educational Foundation (in Spanish, Fundación Educacional Obispo Luis Silva Lezaeta), killing a regional inspector and wounding another four people.[1][2] According to police, the student carried multiple bladed weapons, gasoline, and an improvised flamethrower.[3]
Attack
At around 10:30 am on 27 March 2026, an 18-year-old student allegedly arrived on school grounds, carrying multiple bladed weapons in his backpack. He started stabbing students at random, injuring three, before school staff tried to intervene, at which point he turned the weapons on them. He allegedly wounded two members of school staff, killing one on the spot after stabbing her in the neck. He was then tackled by students and staff, who kept him immobilized and tried taking as many weapons away from him as possible.[4] Upon the arrival of police, he attempted to commit suicide by stabbing.[5]
In his bag, the suspect carried multiple bladed weapons, including several knives and a Japanese-styled saber, on which he wrote the surnames of Pekka-Eric Auvinen, Solomon Henderson, Otoya Yamaguchi, and Timur Bekmansurov.[6] He also had a retractable baton,[7] syringes filled with bleach,[4] and a water gun filled with gasoline, meant to act as an improvised flamethrower.[6]
Victims
The fatal victim was identified as María Victoria Reyes Vache,[8] a 59-year-old female regional inspector.[9] Another regional inspector, along with three more 15-year-old students, were injured.[10][11]
Suspect
The suspect was identified as Hernán Cristóbal Meneses Leal,[12] an 18-year-old student who was attending 12th grade at the time of the attack. According to a friend, he suffered from bullying and social rejection from the school community.[13] Meneses has been diagnosed with Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and moderate Mixed Anxiety–Depressive Disorder.[14]
Meneses allegedly detailed his plans in two notebooks, where he claimed that he wanted to kill as many young people as possible to spare them the isolation of growing up into adulthood, though he later amended his plans to simply kill as many people as he could before ending his own life.[4] In these notebooks, he stated he was motivated by "hatred", "capitalism", and "misanthropy", along with admitting to hoping to kill between four and eight 1st graders due to their "purity".[15] He supposedly stole $500,000 CLP (around $540 USD) from his mom, with which he purchased his weapons and gear. Meneses used to frequent different Discord groups where he shared his thoughts, apparently influenced by previous mass murders.[16][17]
Shortly before the attack, the suspect allegedly posted a video on YouTube showing a photograph of the institution, followed by a red-filter image of himself wearing a balaclava,[18] a supposed reference to the final video posted by Pekka-Eric Auvinen before perpetrating the Jokela school shooting.[19][20]
Legal proceedings
On 31 March, Meneses had his first hearing, where he was officially charged with one count of qualified homicide, four counts of attempted qualified homicide, and one charge relating to carrying arson weapons.[21]
Aftermath
The President of Chile, José Antonio Kast, condemned the attack, stating that "a school cannot be a place of violence", and instructed the heads of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Security to travel north.[22]
On March 30, students of the institute protested demanding that the attack sets a precedent to apply more security measures nationwide, including the implementation of metal detectors and backpack checks.[23]
See also
References
- ^ Marín, Juan; Castillo, Pedro (2026-03-27). "Brutal ataque en Calama: alumno apuñala y da muerte a inspectora tras riña al interior de colegio". ADN Radio (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ AP, Associated Press. "School stabbing in Chile leaves 1 dead and 4 injured". ny1.com. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ "Documento judicial: Cómo el homicida de la escuela de Calama ejecutó el ataque y las imágenes que subió a redes sociales". Ex Ante. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ a b c Ayala, Leslie (2026-03-30). "Asesino de Calama planificó crimen hace cuatro meses y lo dejó escrito en un cuaderno: PDI califica el hecho como "masacre" y autor arriesga cadena perpetua". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ S.A.P, El Mercurio (2026-03-27). "Autor portaba armas blancas en su mochila: Cómo fue el ataque que dejó a una inspectora fallecida y tres alumnos heridos". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ a b "Las referencias a masacres escolares grabadas en las armas del estudiante tras ataque en Calama". Página 7 (in Spanish). 2026-03-27. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
- ^ Press, Europa (2026-03-28). "Autor de ataque en liceo de Calama pasa al tribunal: Habría actuado en venganza". www.notichile.cl. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
- ^ "Quién era la inspectora asesinada por alumno en Calama: hizo heroico acto para salvar a estudiantes". Canal 13 (in Spanish). 2026-03-27. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
- ^ Friz, Génesis (2026-03-27). "Confirman que estudiante asesinó a inspectora en ataque que dejó varios heridos en colegio de Calama". BioBioChile - La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ "Terrible caso: alumno mata a inspectora de liceo y hiere de gravedad a alumnos". El Maule Informa (in Spanish). 2026-03-27. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ "Calama despide a inspectora asesinada por estudiante". Cooperativa. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ Andrews, Juan Pablo (2026-03-28). "Ataque mortal en colegio de Calama evoca matanzas escolares extranjeras". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-28.
- ^ "Habla amiga del atacante de colegio en Calama: "Nadie era muy amable con él"". www.24horas.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- ^ "Amplían hasta el martes control de detención del autor de masacre en colegio de Calama". Chilevisión (in Spanish). 2025-12-08. Retrieved 2026-03-28.
- ^ Ramírez, Diego (2026-03-31). "Quería a matar a niños de 1ero básico por su "pureza": se revela el verdadero motivo tras masacre de Calama". La Cuarta (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ^ "Las pruebas por ataque en Calama: planeado hace 4 meses, un cuaderno y "masacre" culminada en suicidio". Bio Bio Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ "Armas con nombres y líquido acelerante: Lo que portaba el estudiante que mató a inspectora en Calama". Bio Bio Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ Palma, Sebastián (2026-03-27). "Tras ataque en colegio de Calama, apuntan en redes a supuesto autor y desatan amenazas: perfil subió video previo titulado "Ataque en el Instituto Lezaeta"". The Clinic (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ Antofagasta, Timeline (2026-03-27). "Joven que asesinó a inspectora en Calama se habría inspirado en estudiante que masacró a 8 alumnos de un instituto en Finlandia en 2007". Timeline.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ "El video y posteos en redes que habrían anticipado el mortal ataque en colegio de Calama". Bio Bio Chile. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ Benítez Brito, Javier (2026-03-30). "Documento judicial: Cómo homicida escuela Calama hizo ataque". Ex-Ante (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ Carrillo Silva, Constanza (2026-03-27). "Kast condena fatal ataque en colegio de Calama e instruye a ministras viajar al norte". BioBioChile - La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
- ^ "Estudiantes de Calama marcharon por mayores medidas de seguridad". Cooperativa de Chile. Retrieved 2026-03-30.