Brutal attack in front of Rashche primary school leaves pupil seriously injured

A pupil was left seriously injured after a group assault in the village of Rashche, outside Skopje, the local police say. The attack took place right by the main entrance to the primary school and has renewed calls for stronger prevention of peer violence.

According to information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on Thursday a parent from Rashche reported to SVR Skopje that her minor son had been physically attacked by five minors. The assailants waited for the boy near the school grounds and used hard objects during the assault, inflicting serious bodily injuries.

Police say they are working intensively to fully clarify the case and to locate the perpetrators. No names have been released and authorities did not give a timetable for arrests, while medical details about the injured pupil were described only as serious.

Verdict in the Gjorche Petrov case

This incident comes days after the Basic Criminal Court Skopje issued a first-instance verdict in a case that shocked the country in March — the brutal mistreatment of a 13-year-old girl in the Gjorche Petrov municipality. The court applied an institutional educational measure under the Law on Justice for Children, ordering placement in a juvenile correctional home.

The court confirmed that two of the four minors who faced proceedings received measures of one year each, while the other two were ordered to serve eight months each. The decision is not yet final and is in the phase of written elaboration.

Disturbing footage from that earlier case showed the girl being kicked and struck on multiple occasions while peers laughed, recorded video and even photographed the bleeding victim. Parallel to the proceedings against the minors, six criminal charges were filed with the Prosecutor's Office against their parents for "neglect and maltreatment of a child."

Civil society representatives and experts say that punitive court decisions alone are not enough. They call for urgent, systemic and preventive measures at all levels — from closer supervision in and around schools and a stronger role for school psychologists and pedagogues, to greater parental responsibility and involvement — if the trend of peer violence is to be reversed and children given a safe environment.

Photo: AI Ilustracija