Student, 13, stabs teacher, 66, after pepper-spraying her & tries to livestream frenzied attack at school in Rome

A TEENAGE student stabbed his teacher after pepper-spraying her in the face in a school in Rome, police say.

The boy, 13, reportedly tried to livestream his frenzied attack on 66-year-old literature teacher Isabella Marsilio.

Isabella had been one year away from retiring when she was ruthlessly wounded inside her own classroom at Giovanni Verga middle school.

A heroic classmate leaped in and tackled the stabbing fiend, according to reporting by news outlet ANSA.

Police and emergency services then raced to frantic reports of a school stabbing from a desperate 112 call this morning.

Cops arrested the teen and hauled him to the police station – accompanied by his parents.

Headteacher Wanda Giacomini said the suspect had “always been a calm young man” without any behavioural problems.

But as yet unconfirmed reports suggest that the youngster had been scrolling through “violent websites” ahead of the knifing, said La Sicilia.

The wounded teacher is not in life-threatening condition – but has been left terrified by the attack, according to regional authorities.

President of the borough Mauro Caliste said: “She has been deeply affected by these events; she simply cannot make sense of it.

“We found her deeply distressed and understandably shaken by what occurred.”

Classmates claimed that the boy had failed his English class – and blamed the teacher for his bad grade.

“He did it because he had a failing grade and hated her,” students told reporters outside the school.

Just before class, the pupil put on a helmet with a video camera attached to film the frenzy and livestream it to Telegram, said his classmates.

The youngster had been due to sit a test after failing on his first try, they added.

A teacher’s union president said that schools “cannot be left alone” to deal with what he believes is an escalating crisis.

“We barely have time to reopen school and we’re practically back where we left off: weapons in the classroom, stabbings, violence among students and against staff”, Attilio Fratta told ANSA.

“It’s become a constant, not a series of isolated incidents”, he added.

And eduation minister Giuseppe Valditara said the horror attack highlighted the need for social media bans for kids under 15.

He said: “We must prevent children under the age of 15 from accessing dangerous social media platforms and channels.

“In this regard, the EU Commission’s Kids Act is a step in the right direction.”