Student Stabs Teacher In The Chest In Front Of Other Students: Police

KEY POINTS

A 14-year-old girl in Australia stabbed a teacher in front of other students at a high school
The girl and her friend were arrested following the attack, which they allegedly plotted since Oct. 14
The teacher suffered a wound to her left armpit area but has since been discharged from the hospital

A 14-year-old girl in Western Australia (WA) has been arrested after she stabbed a teacher in the chest at a high school.

The teen was handed a knife by her 13-year-old friend before she entered Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) in Perth at around 11:10 a.m. Monday and stabbed a female Year 8 teacher in her 50s, newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The attack, which reportedly took place in the student services block of the school, happened in front of other students, according to 7News.com.au.

The assailant fled the school following the incident, but she and her friend were arrested later that day, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.

The stabbing resulted in the teacher receiving a one centimeter (0.4 inch) wound in her left armpit area, a spokesman for the state's police said. She was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital and has since been discharged.

The assailant had been suspended last week and returned without permission, according to students. She and her friend allegedly plotted to kill the teacher in online conversations since Oct. 14.

The pair were charged with attempting to unlawfully kill and were scheduled to appear before the Children's Court in Perth Tuesday.

"[T]hey are very young, the people who have been charged, so there is obviously a lot more going on there, and that's subject to the investigation at the moment about their mental health and other issues," Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch was quoted as saying.

WSHS principal Trevor Hunter sent an email to parents and guardians just before school ended on the day of the attack to address the stabbing.

All students were kept in their classrooms "for a brief period" as a precaution following the attack that occurred at recess, Hunter's email explained.

The principal claimed that "at no time were any students in danger."

Additionally, Hunter urged parents and guardians to contact him personally or any member of the administrative staff should their child need any support from the school.

State School Teachers’ Union of WA president Pat Byrne said the incident was a reminder of the "dangers teachers face and the need for constant improvement around safety in schools."

"Every teacher should be able to go to work confidently that they will be safe from harm," Byrne added.