Police in Bradford are searching for a 14-year-old boy after a teacher was stabbed in the stomach in a classroom at a school in the city, an attack witnessed by other pupils.
Officers were called by ambulance crews just before 9am on Thursday to Dixons Kings academy after reports of a teacher being attacked, West Yorkshire police said in a statement.
The school’s executive principal, Nick Weller, said it was believed the teacher, a man aged 50, was stabbed in the stomach. A school statement said the teacher was in a stable condition in hospital, and that the stabbing did not cause internal bleeding.
It is understood that the victim is a supply teacher who had been with the school for a month.
As the school day ended, one pupil told reporters he believed the incident happened in a row over a mobile phone. The unnamed male student told the BBC that the boy had refused to hand over his mobile phone to the teacher: “He just got something out of his pocket and stabbed him and ran off.”
The student speaking said the teacher concerned was polite and “never shouted”.
Speaking outside the school gates, Weller said: “It happened right at the beginning of the school day. A few students witnessed it – in a classroom. Those students have been interviewed by the police.”
Asked if he knew where the teacher had been knifed, he said: “I think in the stomach area. We have a member of staff at the hospital.”
Weller said the knife had been brought into school, and that security measures would be examined: “Obviously we will review everything we do. There are some things that happen that you can’t account for, that you can’t anticipate.”
He urged the teenager, who he said had been a pupil there for a year, to hand himself in: “I think the best thing for him to do is to report to the police station because he will be caught and the sooner that he does that, probably the better for him.”
Weller said that while police were “looking into the lead-up to this incident”, he did not know of anything taking place inside the school which might have prompted it. Counsellors were at the school to help pupils, he added.
Also speaking to reporters the principal, Neil Miley, explained why the school had decided to remain open: “Because I think it’s important that we make sure there’s consistency for our students, as students need to be safe and secure. And there’s support from staff on site, making sure our students are looked after, and they’ve responded with fantastic maturity.”
Earlier, the school said the pupil attacked the teacher with a knife and “ran off the site”. The boy being sought by police has been described as Asian, with short dark hair, and was last seen wearing a blue uniform blazer. Neither he nor the teacher have been named.
DS Simon Atkinson, from West Yorkshire police, said: “We are conducting enquiries in the area to locate a suspect and I would like to reassure residents and staff that all necessary resources are being deployed to investigate this ongoing and clearly very serious incident.
“We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or knows the whereabouts of the suspect.
“At this stage we do not believe there is an ongoing risk to pupils or staff at the school. The rest of the school is continuing to operate as normal and local officers, including safer schools officers and members of the local area neighbourhood team, are currently at the school and are liaising closely with staff.
“We are also working closely with our partners in the local authorities to investigate the full circumstances of this incident, which will be the subject of a thorough investigation.”
The school said: “We are working very closely with the police and our main priority at the moment is the wellbeing of our student and staff community and reassuring our parents.
“All students are safe and calm and have responded with tremendous maturity during a very difficult time. Thank you to parents for the overwhelming support you have given us today. We will continue to update you as and when we are given more information.”
Parents arrived at the school following news of the incident but were turned away after being told their children were safe. Parents received a text message from the school saying it would close at the normal time of 3.30pm. An earlier statement had said there was “no ongoing risk” for pupils and staff.
The police presence around the school, in the Lidget Green area of the city, was light as officers continued to search elsewhere for the teenager.
Parents at Dixons Kings Academy have received this text telling them school will finish at normal time today, 3.30. pic.twitter.com/mlaEZVht1b
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) June 11, 2015
The education secretary, Nicky Morgan, said her thoughts were with the injured teacher, his family and colleagues and pupils at the school. “My officials are currently in touch with the school and keeping me constantly updated on the situation and my department is ready and prepared to offer all necessary support,” she said.
“Violence of any kind in schools is totally unacceptable and this government is committed to building on the significant measures we have already taken to make sure our schools are safe for everyone in them.”
NEWS: Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford where 50 year old teacher has been stabbed by a pupil (from @spencerstokestv) pic.twitter.com/gdkhmWOAgy
— BBC Radio York (@BBCYork) June 11, 2015
David Green, the leader of Bradford council, said the event had “deeply shocked and traumatised students, school colleagues and the wider community”. He added: “Our thoughts are with them and the teacher’s family and friends. Our first priority, working with the school and the police, was to make sure all the students in the school were safe. We immediately provided specialist support to the school staff and students, and this support will continue over the coming days and weeks.”
Kevin Courtney, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, called the incident “dreadful”, adding: “Our thoughts are with this teacher and his friends and family and with the students and colleagues at the school. It is always important to reflect on incidents like this to see if anything could have been done to prevent them, but to bear in mind that our schools are, in the main, places of calm and safety.”
Chris Keates, general secretary of the other main teaching union, the NASUWT, said the incident was “shocking and distressing”. She added: “It is important to remember that occurrences of violence such as this are extremely rare, but clearly, at the appropriate time, all of the circumstances of how this incident unfolded will need to be examined.”
The stabbing comes just over a year after a teacher in Leeds, Ann Maguire, was stabbed to death by a pupil then aged 15. Will Cornick stabbed the 61-year-old seven times in the back and neck at Corpus Christi Catholic college, after telling fellow pupils he hated her.
Cornick was jailed for a minimum of 20 years. The trial judge allowed him to be named despite his age.
Dixons Kings originally opened in 2011 as Kings Science academy, one of the first wave of free schools. It faced a series of claims connected to alleged financial mismanagement. Its founder and former principal, Sajid Raja, was this year charged with fraud in connection with his running of the school.
Last year, the school joined the Bradford-based Dixons academy trust chain of schools.
