A teenager who stabbed a fellow pupil to death at their school told police he was “horrified at the outcome” and “all I did was protect myself”, a jury has heard.
The 15-year-old boy accused of murdering Harvey Willgoose, also 15, made the comments in a statement given to police when he was interviewed after his arrest at All Saints Catholic High School, in Sheffield, on February 3, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
A jury heard on Monday that the defendant made no comment to questions asked by detectives but supplied a written statement in an interview the day after Harvey died in which he said he brought the knife to school for his protection.
Describing the incident during the school lunch break on February 3, the boy said in his statement: “Harvey came up to me.
“He said ‘Do you want beef, I’ll have you this time’. I tried to shake his hand. He refused to shake it.
“At that point I felt like he was going to attack me.
“Obviously, all these threats had been made to me previously and at that moment I thought he was going to use a weapon or knife against me.”
The defendant added: “Without thinking and instinctively I pulled out the knife I had in my pocket and thrust it towards Harvey. I did this in self-defence.
“It was not my intention to cause him serious harm.
“At that moment I felt it was me or him, I had to protect myself.”
The boy continued: “I am horrified at the outcome. Never did I think anybody would lose their life.
“I can’t imagine what Harvey’s family are going through. All I did was protect myself.”
Earlier in the statement, the defendant explained to the police why he brought the knife into school “for my protection”.
He described a previous incident after which he said he had been threatened, including by Harvey, and feared he would be “jumped” after school.
The boy also said he heard that Harvey “carries knives”.
The defendant said he had been off school following one incident in school five days before, which led to a lockdown, but did not involve Harvey.
He said he returned to school on the February 3, saying in his statement: “I reluctantly returned but I accept I took a knife with me for protection and nothing more.
“I had no intention to use it or any plan to cause serious harm.”
The jury has been shown CCTV footage of Harvey being stabbed in the courtyard.
The court has heard that the defendant, who cannot be named, has admitted manslaughter but denies murder.
He has also admitted possession of a knife on school premises.
Addressing the jury at the opening of the trial, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, defending, said: “(The defendant) did not set out to kill or seriously hurt anyone.
“The defence say (the defendant’s) actions that day were the end result of a long period of bullying, poor treatment and violence, things that built one upon another until he lost control and did tragically what we’ve all seen.”
