Tewkesbury school stabbing latest – Teenager held on suspicion of attempted murder
Emergency services were called to the Gloucestershire school at around 9:10am on Monday to reports of a stabbing
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A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a teacher was stabbed at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire on Monday morning.
A student reportedly stabbed teacher Jamie Sansom, The Independent understands, whose condition is stable.
Following a lockdown lift, pupils began to filter out of the site on Monday afternoon.
“It was initially thought that the suspect had fled the scene and hidden himself in the school grounds,” Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone told reporters outside Tewkesbury Academy.
“Specialist resources, including the National Police Air Service and plain clothed officers, were deployed to search the wider area and thanks to their efforts the suspect was safely arrested by firearms officers in Stoke Orchard at 11am this morning.
“A knife was seized during that arrest. Searches have continued in order to ensure there were no further casualties and we can now confirm that no-one else was injured in this attack.
“At this stage the motivation behind the attack is unclear but at this time there is no evidence to suggest it is terrorism related.”
Have you been affected by this incident? If so email tara.cobham@independent.co.uk
Tewkesbury school stabbing: Pupil’s mother reads texts sent from daughter
The mother of a pupil at Tewkesbury Academy read out texts exchanged between her and her daughter as the alleged stab incident unfolded in the school.
Sarah Penny spoke to Sky News on Monday 10 July, reading messages from her child that described the incident as “really scary”.
A teenage boy has been arrested after a student reportedly stabbed a teacher at the Gloucestershire school.
“An adult has been taken to hospital with a suspected stab wound following an incident at Tewkesbury School,” a statement from Gloucestershire Police, posted on Twitter, read.
Pupils with their parents’ consent left the site on Monday afternoon following a lockdown lift.
Tewkesbury school stabbing: Pupil’s mother reads texts sent by daughter
The mother of a pupil at Tewkesbury Academy read out texts exchanged between her and her daughter as the alleged stab incident unfolded in the school. Sarah Penny spoke to Sky News on Monday 10 July, reading messages from her child that described the incident as “really scary”. A teenage boy has been arrested after a student reportedly stabbed a teacher at the Gloucestershire school. “An adult has been taken to hospital with a suspected stab wound following an incident at Tewkesbury School,” a statement from Gloucestershire Police, posted on Twitter, read. Pupils with their parents’ consent left the site on Monday afternoon following a lockdown lift.
No evidence to suggest incident terrorism related, police say
Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone told reporters outside Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire a teenager had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
“It was initially thought that the suspect had fled the scene and hidden himself in the school grounds,” Mr Ocone said.
“Our officers, including specialist trained armed police, attended and carried out a thorough search.
“This search was both complex and meticulous in nature as we sought to ensure there were no further injured parties as well as seeking the arrest of the suspect.
“The academy was locked down and two neighbouring schools were asked to close their doors as a precaution.
“Specialist resources, including the National Police Air Service and plain clothed officers, were deployed to search the wider area and thanks to their efforts the suspect was safely arrested by firearms officers in Stoke Orchard at 11am this morning.
“A knife was seized during that arrest. Searches have continued in order to ensure there were no further casualties and we can now confirm that no-one else was injured in this attack.
“At this stage the motivation behind the attack is unclear but at this time there is no evidence to suggest it is terrorism related. However, we are keeping an open mind while further inquiries are carried out.”
‘He is a nice teacher and he does a lot of events’, says pupil
Pupils from Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire were reunited with their parents after the incident, which saw a teacher injured and the school locked down by police.
Among the parents was Michelle Smith, who was waiting for her 13-year-old son Alex, who is in year 8.
Speaking outside the school, Alex told the PA news agency: “The school had just started, and we went to our first lesson and we didn’t know what was going on but it was alright until the teacher locked the door and we were in that same lesson for four or five hours.
“We didn’t know what was going on, but we weren’t worried, and we weren’t that scared because we were fine.
“We were in the classroom and couldn’t really see any police cars but when they let us go to the toilet and we went downstairs we could see lots of police cars and we still didn’t know what was happening and people told us what was happening when we went downstairs.
“Then the assembly happened, and we understood what was going on. It is quite sad, and I don’t know why it happened and I am not sure of much of the details.
“The police came and just said the incident has happened and they were sorry for the inconvenience. We didn’t get any details until the assembly. In the assembly they told us a member of staff had been hurt.”
The teenager said the teacher who had been injured was one of his favourites at the school and organises a lot of the school trips.
“He is a nice teacher and he does a lot of events,” he added.
‘We know the kids are safe now, we just need to know that he is OK’, says parent of hospitalised teacher
Michelle Smith, whose 13-year-old son Alex is in Year 8, said she was very relieved to be able to collect him from school after getting the shock news on Monday morning.
“Very relieved. You get the message from school to say the school has been locked down and it says urgent,” she said.
“You open it and you’re at work and you go on to Facebook to see if you can see anything and there is so many different stories going on there - so you tend to panic a little bit.
“Then you hear that a teacher has been stabbed and the children are all locked down. The first instinct is to get to the school as quickly as you can, which I didn’t do, and I listened to the school and stayed away as long as I possibly can.
“I had other people that were here informing me of what was going on, so that helped a lot. Even though you know your child is safe and the school are doing a fantastic job, knowing who has been stabbed and knowing it is one of your child’s favourite teachers, you know they are going to be very upset when they come home.
“They informed us of what they could as soon as they could, and they have been absolutely brilliant. We went up to Dobbies to meet and get updates. As soon as they said we could bring him home I was down here.”
Mrs Smith said the teacher is “very popular” with parents and pupils alike.
“He does a lot of the school trips. He is a really, really good teacher and the communication is really good,” she said.
“He is one of those teachers you know you can email him or talk to him. He gets back to you and I am really, really very concerned about him at the moment. I have got everything crossed for him. We know the kids are safe now, we just need to know that he is OK.”
‘This was clearly a very distressing incident’, police say
“The suspect, a teenage boy from Tewkesbury, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in police custody”, a statement from Gloucestershire Police read.
“This was clearly a very distressing incident and our thoughts are with the victim, their family and everyone impacted by what happened.
“We are working with the school and other agencies to ensure appropriate support is available and local people will see more police in the area over the coming days as the investigation continues.”
In pictures: Tewkesbury Academy responds to stabbing of teacher
The teacher who was stabbed at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire was injured in a corridor and remains in a stable condition in hospital having suffered a single stab wound, Gloucestershire Police said on Monday afternoon.
A teenager, from Tewkesbury, fled the scene and was later arrested by armed officers in the nearby Stoke Orchard area on suspicion of attempted murder and a knife was recovered.
There were tears and hugs as pupils were reunited with their parents after the stabbing incident, which saw the school locked down by police.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has said Rishi Sunak’s thoughts are with those impacted by the incident.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It is a live investigation, but the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with the individual who has been injured and with the staff and pupils of the school who would obviously be extremely concerned.
“He wants to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response.”
Exclusive: Shocking moment armed police tell cowering children to hide after school stabbing
This is the shocking moment an armed police officer tells a group of pupils to hide at the back of a cupboard as they continue to search for a suspected knifeman.
Terrified pupils can be heard crying after they spent hours barricaded inside a cupboard at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire on Monday.
About three hours in, an armed police officer “kicked in” the door of the design and technology classroom they were being taught in before the school went into lockdown shortly after 9am.
Oliver Pritchard-Jones has the exclusive:
Shocking moment armed police tell cowering children to hide after school stabbing
Exclusive: The shocking footage shows the moment pupils are told to move to the back of a cupboard and stay quiet
ICYMI: Teenage boy arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after teacher stabbed
A teenage boy is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a teacher was stabbed in a secondary school corridor.
The male teacher was taken to hospital with a single stab wound after being attacked at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire just after 9am on Monday.
The academy was locked down and two neighbouring schools were also asked to shut their doors as a “precaution”, Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone of Gloucestershire Police said.
A teenager, from Tewkesbury, allegedly fled the scene and was arrested by armed officers in the nearby Stoke Orchard area at 11am.
Eleanor Busby reports:
Teenage boy arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after teacher stabbed
The male teacher remains in hospital in a stable condition.
Teachers kept pupils calm with karaoke machine and colouring in, parents say
Teachers kept pupils at Tewkesbury Academy calm in the aftermath of the attack by letting them sing on a karaoke machine, one parent has said.
“My son texted me to say the teachers have dealt with the situation amazingly. They’ve been keeping them calm and distracted with the karaoke”, 56-year-old Bill Gardiner, whose 15-year-old son is a pupil at the school, told The Telegraph.
Meanwhile, another parent said her daughter, who is in year eight, was given colouring in as a distraction.
“As soon as the attack happened, the kids were told by their teachers to shut themselves inside storeroom cupboards and keep quiet. Thank goodness the teachers have kept such clear heads and protected them so well”, another parent told The Telegraph.
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