A boy accused of knifing two other boys at a North London school is a former pupil who used his old uniform to sneak back onto the premises, it is claimed.
Police are investigating possible terror links after the double stabbing at Kingsbury High School in Brent where the suspect allegedly shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he stabbed a boy aged 12 in the neck as he tried to use the fire alarm to alert others.
The boy is also alleged to have stabbed another pupil aged 13 in the midriff in what is believed to have been a targeted attack. The suspect is said to have been excluded from the school some weeks earlier after getting into a fight with the older victim, a year 8 pupil.
The suspect got into the school at around 12.40pm on Tuesday armed with pepper spray and used the gas on a teacher during a science lesson, say horrified witnesses.
Both victims were rushed to hospital in a serious condition.
A 13-year-old has since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody. The weapon which officers believe was used has been recovered.
An investigation has been launched by the Metropolitan Police’s counter terrorism unit, though the incident is not yet being treated as a terror attack.
Shocked students took to social media last night to reveal how the stabbings took place in a science classroom.
In the middle of a classroom just before lunch, a teenager pulled out a knife and stabbed a 13-year-old boy in the neck and back while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’, witnesses said
Pictured: Emergency services at the scene of a stabbing at Kingsbury High School
The boy who was said to have been stabbed in the neck ran to the school canteen clutching the wound with blood gushing down his uniform.
One girl revealed on TikTok: ‘I saw this happen, blood all over the floor wondering “is that paint?” and then seeing a boy with blood all over his neck covering it with his hands.
‘ I thought maybe fake blood or just a science or art project until the fire alarm rang and then I knew oh we are cooked.’
Another said: ‘It was so bad there was screaming, crying and a lot of blood and the ppl who saw the whole thing happen were terrified and it was in the middle of lunch too.
‘The whole school was standing outside for three hours with no coats, no nothing. It was so cold and yeah I’m never forgetting this ever.’
He said: ‘The attacker came in with his old KHS uniform and didn’t get suspected by teachers .
‘He went after the 13 year-old because long ago they fought and the youth with the knife got expelled. He came back to this school and found the boy he’d fought with and pepper sprayed the teacher and stabbed the boy, in the stomach I think.
‘Then some person in Year 7, who was 12 yrs old, was walking by the class and he saw what happened and ran and pulled the fire alarm.
The attack unfolded at Kingsbury High School on Bacon Lane in Brent at around 12.40pm yesterday
‘The attacker saw him and chased after him and he got caught and got stabbed in the neck. He kept running and got to the canteen and two teachers saw him and he was covered in blood.
‘After that happened the youth with the knife ran away but the police found him later and he was arrested.’
Detective Superintendent Luke Williams of the Metropolitan Police told a press conference on Tuesday night that police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the stabbings
He said: ‘Officers were called to Bacon Lane at around 12:40hrs following a report that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed. Armed and local officers were on the scene within 13 minutes of the 999 call.
‘On arrival, we were made aware that a 12-year-old boy had also been stabbed and both boys have been taken to hospital.
‘We await an update on how they are, though we understand their conditions to be serious. The thoughts of everyone at the Met are with them and their loved ones, and we want to thank the doctors and nurses who are providing the boys with urgent care.
‘The suspect – who we believe to be 13 – left the scene following the stabbing.
‘After urgent enquiries our officers arrested him and also recovered a weapon which we believe to have been used in the stabbing.
Two boys, aged 12 and 13, have been rushed to hospital after being stabbed
‘The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody for questioning by our officers.
‘This is a fast-moving and developing investigation, but we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to this incident.’
Dept Supt Williams said police are keeping an open mind as to any motivation behind this attack but due to the surrounding circumstances, the investigation is now being led by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing London, who are working closely with local officers.
He added: ‘This has not currently been declared a terrorist incident and the investigation team will now be working at pace to gather any evidence and to establish the full circumstances of what has happened as quickly as possible.
‘I absolutely recognise that this incident will cause considerable concern – especially among our local community, students and parents of the school. I hope the news that we’ve arrested and detained the suspect will provide some reassurance, but our officers will remain in the area to offer support and answer any questions.
‘We’d encourage anyone with concerns or further information to speak to them.’
One of the two victims was rushed to a major trauma centre as a priority, the London Ambulance Service said, with both of the boys’ conditions understood to have, at one stage, been ‘life-threatening’.
The headteacher of Kingsbury High School, Alex Thomas, described the attack as a ‘deeply traumatic event for the whole school community’.
Staff have spoken directly to the parents and carers of the students involved, adding that the situation is now ‘under control’
He wrote in a letter to parents and carers: ‘I am very sorry to inform you that there was a serious incident at school today in which two students were stabbed. Our thoughts and best wishes are with our students and their families at this incredibly difficult time.
‘We would also like to thank the emergency services for their swift response and our staff for the calm and dedicated way they supported students throughout the day.
‘Students in the Lower School were kept in the playground at the request of the police while they began their investigations, they were incredibly patient and respectful of others during this time.’
Photos from the scene showed a number of emergency vehicles swarming around the school in the aftermath of the incident.
The site was on lockdown earlier on Tuesday, with no one able to enter or leave the grounds.
One mother of a Year 8 student told the Brent and Kilburn Times: ‘I’ve been panicking, a lot of kids don’t have their phones on them so I couldn’t get through.
‘They had to leave their bags and stuff.
‘At least I have her now. It’s awful – so awful – what happened, that someone would even bring a knife to a school.
Scotland Yard said counter-terrorism police were leading the investigation amid suspicions it was an ideologically motivated attack (Pictured: Tuesday evening’s Met Police press conference)
‘My daughter said that a fire alarm went off when it happened.’
One father said children at the school were ‘traumatised by what happened in front of them’.
Kingsbury High School is an academy school serving children aged 11 to 18, with both upper and lower sites.
According to the latest Department for Education information, it has 1,997 pupils.
It traces its origins to Kingsbury County School, which opened in 1925 in a building which had been the office of the former Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It moved premises in 1932.
Alumni include Wham’s George Michael, jazz musician Courtney Pine, Floyd Steadman, the first black captain of the Saracens rugby team, and writer Ekow Eshun.
The London Ambulance Service said they were called at 12.41pm to reports of a stabbing on Bacon Lane.
They added: ‘We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic, a paramedic from our tactical response unit and a clinical team manager.
‘We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance.
‘We treated two patients in total. We took one patient to hospital and the other as a priority to a major trauma centre.’
