The 16-year-old accused of stabbing his classmates at a secondary school in western France, killing one student, has been described by those who knew him as a loner who admired Adolf Hitler, a public prosecutor said on Friday, dpa reported.

The knife attack took place on Thursday at a private Catholic school in the city of Nantes. A 16-year-old girl was killed by the suspect, and two other students, aged 15 and 16, were injured.