Police in a town near Paris have foiled a 13-year-old boy's plan to shoot his teachers and himself after being warned by his parents, BBC reported.
When the boy approached the school in Beauvais with a loaded hunting rifle he found it guarded by police and turned back, according to judicial officials.
Police detained the suspect after he was found by his parents in an internet cafe in the town centre.
His parents had raised the alert after finding the family gun was missing.
A farewell message on the unnamed child's blog reportedly read: "This is the last day of my life".
"He left his home with a loaded hunting rifle and 25 cartridges," senior local official Raymond Yeddou told AFP news agency.
"He went in the direction of the school where, according to his declarations, he intended to kill his teachers."
During the drama at Saint-Esprit, a Roman Catholic school with 2,000 pupils, its director was warned by police to keep his students confined to their classrooms.
The teenage suspect was considered a good pupil from a good family, AFP adds.
His parents had found his behaviour disturbing and searched their home near Beauvais after he left for school on Tuesday, the agency says.
When they discovered that the hunting rifle was missing, they contacted the police.
Mr Yeddou added that the suspect had not entered the school and there had been no danger to pupils at any time.