Youth sentenced for bringing knife to school and stabbing teacher

A youth has been sentenced after he brought a knife to a school and stabbed a teacher in the stomach.

The 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced at Bristol Magistrates Court today (28 September 2023) to a 14-month detention and training order after pleading guilty to one count of possessing a bladed article and one count of attempting to wound with intent.

On the morning of 10 July 2023, the defendant called the police from a toilet cubicle in Tewkesbury School and told them that someone was going to stab a teacher. 

Shortly after, CCTV evidence showed the defendant leave the toilets wearing a face covering. He knocked on the classroom door in which the victim was teaching, beckoned the teacher to come out of the classroom before pushing a kitchen knife into their abdomen.

The youth then fled the school before being arrested by police in the area of Stoke Orchard.

The teacher was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for his injury and was discharged later the same day.

Laura Burgess, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the CPS South West, said: “The defendant in this case took a knife to a school and clearly attempted to inflict harm on a teacher.

“This was a shocking incident for the victim who was lucky to not have been more seriously hurt during the attack.

“School should be a safe place for teachers and students, not a place where knives introduce fear and jeopardize their safety. I hope this sentence serves as a warning to anyone who believes it is acceptable to carry knives and weapons in any public space.”