First‑grader assaulted, stripped and filmed in Kocani school locker room

A first‑grade child in Kocani was reportedly attacked, stripped and filmed inside a school sports‑hall locker room, a case that has raised public outrage and renewed debate over peer violence in schools.

The Ministry of Interior (MVR) registered the incident after a report was filed on 24.09.2026 at 12:45. "On 24.09.2026 at 12:45, a 42‑year‑old man from Kocani reported to OVR Kocani that in the locker room of the sports hall of an elementary school in Kocani his six and a half year old child was physically attacked, stripped and recorded with a smart watch by several other minors, older than his child," the police statement says. The competent Public Prosecutor and the Center for Social Work were informed.

Reactions on social media

Public reactions poured in on social networks, where users expressed shock and demanded action. Examples of the comments include:

"Besides the parents of the violent children, the homeroom teacher should also be held responsible. A first‑grader is a child who needs constant supervision."

"Immediate opening of reformatories for these enraged children is needed, and there, besides education, they should be given hard physical work — collecting trash, digging parks, reforestation... Parents should be punished for neglect and failure to discipline the enraged children, but not with 30–40 euros but with prison...!!!"

"Back then we played and were locked outside, and now you have to be afraid to send your child even to school, from whom, from the undisciplined, unleashed, enraged children and parents..."

"Remove that monster of a child immediately, and take him away from the parents until there are rigorous penalties, and for the teachers as well. Where were they when it concerns such small children? It is a shame, that first‑grader will have trauma for life. If the professional services and severe punishment for his teacher do not act, parents will start taking justice into their own hands."

"Minister, education workers, parents! This has crossed all limits of normality, this is madness. A 6‑year‑old child maltreated? Bullying.... What bullying! Madness! We are shaken each day by such news. I cannot imagine being in the place of the parents of that child. I really don't know what I would do."

Authorities have yet to determine who participated, how the incident unfolded inside the locker room, and what led to the attack. Investigators are expected to clarify those details and decide what measures will follow.

The case has reignited wider public questions about the role of smart technologies in children’s daily lives and whether tougher sanctions for parents or institutional responses are needed as peer violence appears to be rising across the country.

Photo: press material from the event