Professor stabbed in Rome: forgiveness for the 13-year-old student

Isabella Marsilio, the teacher stabbed by her 13-year-old student at the Giovanni Verga middle school in Rome, has publicly recounted the attack that occurred yesterday morning. The teacher, in an interview, stated: "I was afraid I was going to die. He was stabbing me and remained silent." The student entered the classroom wearing a bicycle helmet and camera glasses, sprayed pepper spray in the teacher's face, and then attacked her with a dagger with a blade at least 20 centimeters long.

Despite the trauma, Professor Marsilio has already forgiven her attacker. "I have already forgiven the boy. I would like to hug him," she said. According to her account, the triggering factor was a scheduled classroom test that morning to make up for a failing grade in History. The teacher was immediately helped by a student who restrained the attacker.

The assault took place at the Giovanni Verga middle school in Rome, while Professor Marsilio was in class with her students. The boy, initially marked as absent during roll call, suddenly entered during a conversation between the teacher and another student regarding an academic debt. This episode is not an isolated incident within the context of youth distress in schools, but it stands out due to the severity of the act and the victim's reaction of forgiveness.

The teacher reported that the 13-year-old had already shown signs of distress during the previous school year, displaying "feelings of anger, annoyance, superiority" even towards his classmates. The school had been in contact with the family and offered support through the counseling service, which the boy never approached. According to information learned later, in the last week the student had told his classmates that he would stab the teacher, a detail that deeply disturbed the teacher when she became aware of it.