Police have opened a criminal case after footage of the attack at a school in Bistrița became public

Police officers in Bistrița-Năsăud opened a criminal case on Tuesday, October 20, for the disclosure of non-public data, after footage captured by surveillance cameras during the knife attack at the “Ștefan cel Mare” Secondary School in Bistrița reached the public domain and was distributed on social networks and in the mass media.

The attack took place on Monday, October 19, when a 13-year-old student assaulted a 28-year-old teacher. Another student, aged 12, was injured while trying to intervene in support of the teacher. The teacher remained hospitalized but is in good condition, while the other student was discharged the same day.

The deputy head of the Bistrița-Năsăud County Police Inspectorate, Claudiu Jurcan, stated that investigators are checking how the footage, including the unblurred images, was disclosed. The investigation is currently ongoing, and police have not ruled out the possibility that the materials were distributed by someone who had access to the data during its processing. The School Inspectorate leadership maintains that the footage did not leave the school.

The attack is being investigated separately in a criminal case for attempted murder. The 13-year-old student is hospitalized in Child Psychiatry in Cluj-Napoca, while the authorities await the medical diagnosis. In Romania, minors under the age of 14 are not criminally liable, but special protection measures may be ordered.