22 years after the Carmen de Patagones School Massacre, the Supreme Court ordered to compensate the families of the victims

Twenty-two years after the Carmen de Patagones school massacre, the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that the national government and the province of Buenos Aires must compensate the families of the victims. The ruling comes in response to legal actions initiated by the families of those killed during the attack on September 28, 2004, when 15-year-old Rafael "Junior" Solich entered the secondary school "Islas Malvinas" in Carmen de Patagones armed with his father’s 9mm pistol. During the incident, Solich shot dead three classmates—Sandra Núñez, Federico Ponce, and Evangelina Miranda—and injured five others before being subdued by his friend Dante Peña.

The Supreme Court judges—Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Ricardo Lorenzetti—rejected the appeals filed by the National Government, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Security, and the Provincial State Prosecution Office, which represented the Buenos Aires Department of Culture and Education. These appeals had sought to overturn earlier rulings that held both the state and the school accountable for failing to prevent the tragedy. The court upheld the obligation for the state to provide compensation to the family of Sandra Núñez, whose mother had initiated the lawsuit seeking damages.

This decision follows previous rulings in similar cases involving other victims. In 2023, the Supreme Court had already supported the claim made by the family of Federico Ponce, another student who was killed in the attack. The family of Evangelina Miranda also pursued legal action against the state, but their case reached its first-instance judgment only recently, in October 2024. This indicates that the process of holding the authorities accountable has been long and complex, spanning over two decades since the initial incident.

At the time of the shooting, Solich and the victims were all students in the first year "B" of the Polimodal program at the "Islas Malvinas" school. After raising the flag, Solich stood up in front of the class, pulled out his weapon, and began firing until he emptied his clip. He then reloaded and continued shooting in the hallway until he was stopped by his friend Dante Peña, who managed to wrest the gun away from him. The incident left the school community in shock and led to widespread calls for accountability.

Legal proceedings initially focused on the responsibility of the school and the Prefectura Naval Argentina, the federal security force to which Solich's father belonged. The Federal Court of Bahía Blanca, in its first and second instance rulings, applied Article 1117 of the Civil Code, which states that educational institutions—both private and public—are responsible for damages caused by students under their authority unless they can prove a case of force majeure. The court found that neither the school nor the authorities had adequately addressed the behavioral issues exhibited by Solich, despite warnings from some members of the institution.

Regarding the weapon used in the attack, the court determined that the Prefectura Naval should also bear responsibility because the firearm belonged to Solich’s father, a member of the federal security force. It was concluded that there were serious lapses in the proper safeguarding of the weapon, which could have prevented the tragedy. Both the national and provincial governments appealed these findings, arguing that such a ruling would require them to inspect the homes of tens of thousands of personnel daily to ensure compliance with weapons storage regulations. However, the Supreme Court dismissed these arguments, emphasizing the need for accountability.

In addition to the fatalities, five students were injured during the attack: Natalia Salomón, Nicolás Leonardi, Cintia Casasola, Rodrigo Torres, and Pablo Saldías Kloster. One of the survivors, Rodrigo Torres, recalled the moment he realized the gravity of the situation. Initially thinking the sounds were from a toy gun, he later saw the casing of a real bullet and understood the danger. His account highlights the suddenness and chaos of the event.

Rafael Solich was confined to a psychiatric facility in the Ensenada district following the incident. As the legal process unfolded, Judge Alicia Ramallo declared him legally incapable of being held fully responsible due to his age at the time of the crime. The case eventually closed with his release, though the families of the victims continue to seek justice through the courts.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision marks a significant step toward acknowledging the failures of the institutions involved and providing redress to the affected families. While the legal battle has spanned nearly two decades, this ruling offers a measure of closure and recognition of the systemic shortcomings that contributed to the tragedy. The families now await further developments regarding the implementation of the compensation orders, which will likely involve negotiations between the involved parties and the establishment of specific terms for the financial support to be provided.