Paris man commits suicide in front of nursery school children
Policemen stand guard at the entrance to a nursery school where a man committed suicide in front of pupils on May 16, 2013 in Paris.
A middle-aged man killed himself Thursday with a sawed-off shotgun in front of young children at a Paris nursery school.
The man was said to be known to police and had a history of depression and marital troubles.
Before he shot himself in the head in the school's foyer, he dropped documents related to his legal procedures.
It is unclear if the documents were about his apparent divorce proceedings or other legal troubles.
He was not affiliated with the school but the French newspaper Le Monde said he lived nearby in the upscale seventh district of Paris.
More from GlobalPost: London: From village to airport lounge
Nobody else was hurt during the incident.
The French minister of education rushed back to Paris from Brussels after the incident.
Police and parents quickly converged on the site to secure the children.
It is unclear how the man entered the school given that it is blocked off from the street by large gates.
Le Monde reported that he may have entered through a door connected to an adjacent building.
The school gates may also have been opened as the incident occurred during lunch hours.