A school teacher has survived attack by a student who struck him repeatedly with an axe at an intermediate school at the town of Hawiyah in the Mandiq Governorate in Baha on Sunday.

Emad Al-Zahrani, a Red Crescent spokesman in Baha, said: “We got a call from the principal of the Al-Fadil Intermediate School seeking assistance to immediately transfer a teacher with head injuries to the hospital. A student struck 30-year-old Shadi Al-Zahrani with an axe.”

Al-Zahrani is said to be in stable condition.

The injured teacher told reporters that he was taken by surprise when the student attacked him, knocking him over. “The student struck me three times. However, I gathered all my strength and got hold of the axe and my attacker then fled the scene,” he said.

Al-Zahrani said that he was supervising the exit of students following the end of afternoon classes when he was attacked.

“I have no idea why the boy would attack me nor do I know of any past history of the student being aggressive,” he said.

Another teacher who was a witness to the incident said: “The student, who was carrying an axe, knocked the teacher down without provocation and began attacking him with the axe.”

Police are on the lookout for the offender and are also investigating the reasons behind the attack, said Lt. Col. Saad Trad, a police spokesman in Baha.