2024 Tirana teen stabbing

2024 Tirana teen stabbing
The crime scene after the incident
Date	18 November 2024, 13:10
Location	"Qemal Stafa" Street, Tirana
Caused by	Fight in social networks.
Methods	Stabbing
Resulted in	1 teen, student of "Fan Noli" school, died in hospital. 2 injured, along ith the murderer. 1 taken into custody.
Parties
2 teens, one of them a student of "Mustafa Qemal Ataturk" school in Sauk 2 teens, students of "Fan Noli" school
Casualties
Death(s)	1
Injuries	2
Arrested	1
It is believed that there were multiple students involved in the fight.

On November 18, 2024, a stabbing incident occurred near the "Fan Noli" school in Tirana, Albania. The altercation between teenagers resulted in the death of one individual and the injury of another.

Details

The incident occurred on November 18, 2024, near the "Fan Noli" school in Tirana, Albania, at around 13:10.

It is speculated that the fight had started earlier on social networks. The conflict heated further on the previous Friday. Other persons had notified the murder that the victim had offended him. However, the situation still remained tense the next week. Before school, the individuals had met again and brawled, also offending each other. A security guard who was there split the parties. After school, the teens met at "Qemal Stafa" street, 200-300 meters away from the school. The victim notified his friend, who was a student at the "Mustafa Qemal Ataturk" school in Sauk.

Witnesses reported that the teenagers began to argue heatedly before one of them pulled out a knife. The confrontation turned violent, and two individuals sustained injuries. The situation quickly drew the attention of nearby students and staff, however no one intervened to stop the situation. A woman who was there at the moment took the victim with herself and took him to the hospital after calling the ambulance.In an interview for Top News, she said:

“I was at the scene when the child fell to the ground. I called the ambulance that responded immediately, I told them that the child had been in an accident. They told me that he had been stabbed. I don’t even know where I found that strength, the child needed urgent intervention. The child was lying on the ground, I approached and saw him, I touched his hand, he was still beating and there were signs of life. His eyes were sometimes focused, sometimes they were no longer visible. A woman was saying let’s take him by car. Very few seconds, specifically I was parked at the school gate. She stuck the knife straight into his heart, a large crowd of people formed. Then we saw that the child had no more time for the ambulance, we put him in a lady’s car. A boy approached and said he would come. The ambulance told me we were in traffic, a lady contacted me and said go to Trauma (University Trauma Hospital). The boy was in critical moments. We crossed the curbs and sidewalks, with alarms and horns. We headed to the QSUT, we saw the ambulance in front of us, blocking all traffic. The child had raised his head and was looking for his mother. The witnesses have committed a double crime. We thought we left him alive. I hope such a serious event does not happen again."

Emergency services arrived late at the scene. One of the teenagers was critically wounded and was transported to a local hospital, where they later died. The other teenager was also hospitalized and treated for less severe wounds and is currently in stable condition. Another teen, who is alleged to be the murderer was treated at a private hospital.Later it was revealed that the murderer was named Mario Prelleshaj.

The crime scene

Allegedly the deceased teen was stabbed 6 times in the heart and stomach.

Later, it was identified that the deceased teen was named Martin Cani. He was also shown that he was part of the U-15 Dinamo team. Cani was reported to be a kind and quiet kid, who as subjected to bullying. After commiting the crime, the murderer released a picture on Snapchat, showing the knife he used, and raising his fist as a victory sign.

Aftermath and reactions

The event shocked the school community and authorities. President Bajram Begaj expressed his condolences for the family of the dead teenager. He also expressed concern about "the promotion of violence via social networks".

President Begaj wrote:

"The separation from the life of the 14-year-old is a great pain for all of us. My deepest condolences to his family! Also, I wish from the bottom of my heart a speedy and complete recovery for the injured student! This serious event worries us and charges us with responsibility for the environment in which we are raising and educating our children, including society, school and family. As a society, we have a big challenge ahead: To curb the promotion of violence in social networks and online space, as well as to stop any kind of violent display in our society.Our children and young people deserve to be oriented towards positive models of work, education and achievements through them."