13 year old boy charged after school knife incident
A 13 year old student has been charged with possession of a blade after police were called to a classroom incident on Tuesday.
The boy, who has not been named, was arrested by police at the Marine Academy Plymouth, in Kings Tamerton and charged last night.
The school has written to parents to reassure them and confirm that no one was injured, that staff acted immediately to clear the classroom and police arrived within a few minutes of being called.
A police spokesperson said yesterday: "Just after 11am this morning, Tuesday 19 March 2013 , police received a call...with the report that a student was in a classroom holding a knife. At the time it was not clear if anyone had been threatened.
"A police unit was immediately deployed to the school. When police arrived the boy was alone in a classroom as staff had requested all other students leave the room around the time of the incident. On request the boy put the knife down. He was then searched by police. No one has been injured during this incident.
"The 13 year old boy was arrested by police for possession of a bladed article in a public place. It is understood that no one was actually threatened by the boy with the knife."
The letter sent to parents said:
"No doubt you will be aware that an incident... took place today, in the science area.
"You will be reassured to know that in response to this incident, staff immediately acted and ensured the safety of all students.
"Police were called and were on site to support staff within five minutes: no action from the police was necessary and the police have paid tribute to the swift and efficient response of the academy
.
"We are aware that there have been many rumours amongst the children and also on social media and therefore we think it absolutely essential that parents should be informed of the facts of the situation and can be clear that no one was hurt at all.
"The safety of students is the number one priority of every school and here at Marine Academy Plymouth we review our safety practices regularly.
"Today those practices proved to be effective and we can be very proud indeed of the way in which students responded to their teachers throughout, thus ensuring a calm resolution."
