A teacher in Barcelona, Spain was killed and four others were wounded in an attack by a student armed with a home-made crossbow and a knife on Monday.

Authorities have arrested the suspect, who is only described as a 13-year-old boy. Police said the boy, who is undergoing psychiatric examination, may not face charges due to his age.

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Spanish law states only those at least 14 years of age may be criminally charged.    

The deadly attack, which happened at about 9:30 a.m., began when the boy arrived late for his class at the Instituto Joan Fuster. He attacked a Spanish language teacher and her daughter, who was also a student at the school.

Two more people were injured. This triggered screams and panic among other students in class. 

"We were just starting the class and suddenly we heard screams," student Gemma Jarque recalled. "So we shut ourselves inside our classroom in order to be safe."

The victim, a male teacher who was just subbing for a colleague, entered the classroom and was fatally attacked by the boy while he was trying to protect his colleague. The male teacher had only been working at the school for a few weeks.

Police have yet to determine the motive behind the attack. They likewise could not tell which of the boy's weapons was used to kill the teacher.

An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of the teacher's death. 

Witnesses said the crossbow was made out of wood and ballpoint pens. The 13-year-old attacker had thrown it into a trash bin before escaping. 

A student, Paula Amayuelas, said she knew the suspect whom she said did not appear to have any problems. However, the boy seemed to be a "loner" and other students would pick on him.

The boy was taken to a hospital for mental examination following his arrest. Jose Miguel Company, spokesman for the Barcelona prosecutor's office, said the boy looked very disturbed and was heard saying bizarre things.

Company said the examination is aimed at determining the authenticity of the boy's mental condition, adding that there's a possibility he was just faking it.

Parents and students comforted each other, following the shocking attack in their school. 

Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelo, sent out a tweet saying he was shocked by the incident and vowed to provide support for the victims.

School attacks in Spain are uncommon. Spanish authorities have not recorded any fatal incidents in any school in the country's recent history. 

Tagsteacher murder, crossbow, Spain