The teacher questioned him; a 14-year-old pupil punched him in the face, breaking his nose

Whilst he was deciding what mark to give the pupil he had just examined, he was struck by the 14-year-old boy with a punch and a chair to the head. The victim of the attack is Bruno Vadalà, a 52-year-old mechanics teacher at the Carlo Grassi Institute in Turin, who was assaulted this morning during a test. He was taken to San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, where he was found to have a broken nose, with a recovery time of 30 days.

The Carabinieri are investigating the incident; they attended the school on Via Paolo Veronese, in the Madonna di Campagna neighbourhood. The minor was taken to the police station and charged with causing bodily harm. The assault took place during the second lesson, in a second-year class, whilst a scheduled test was being held.

The young man was sitting next to the teacher. “I’d even tried to help him – I mean, like all young people, he doesn’t study that much – so I said, ‘Come on, sit down, you do know a bit’,” says Vadalà. “Whilst I was trying to work out what mark to give him – I didn’t actually see it myself, as my head was bent over the paper – I was told that he clasped his hands together and punched me, that is, with both arms clasped,” adds the teacher. “I was writing and that blow sent me crashing to the floor,” he continues. “I put my hand to my nose because I could see blood trickling out, and he threw a chair at my head whilst I was on the floor.” “There was no trigger, so if I didn’t do anything to you, where on earth did all this unprovoked violence come from?”, wonders the teacher. The boy was stopped by his classmates and another teacher, who called the emergency services. “I’m not shaken; more than anything, I’m just disappointed – partly because I get on well with practically everyone at school,” continues Vadalà, who, rather than an apology from the parents, hopes “that something will be done for the boy, to make him realise he was in the wrong and that this is no way to behave”. “As for me,” the teacher concludes, “I’m at peace with it; I’ve done my duty, I’m in the right, and I hope the parents get to the bottom of it and see, just a little bit, how they can help him.”

The school management expressed surprise at the incident, explaining that the boy had never caused any trouble before and announcing that measures would be taken against him. The Regional Councillor for Education and Academic Achievement, Daniela Cameroni, also commented on the incident, saying she was “deeply outraged” by the attack and expressing her solidarity with the teacher. “There is no place for violence in schools: it is unacceptable that teachers cannot carry out their work in an atmosphere of respect and calm, whilst fearing to enter the classroom,” said Cameroni.