Police called to disarm 13- year- old schoolgirl making knife threat

Police officers disarmed a 13- year-old schoolgirl who had a knife and was threatening to kill a fellow pupil, it emerged yesterday1.

It is understood that four officers–three men and a woman – were needed to take the weapon from the girl at the 700- pupil Webster’s High School in Kirriemuir, Angus.

Police arrived at t he scene after receiving a call from the school just before 9 am on Thursday 19 October.

Angus Council has refused to say whether the girl, who can not be named for legal reasons, was suspended from the school.

Yesterday a source spoke of concerns for the safety of the school’ s pupils in the wake of the incident, coming two years after a pupil was killed with a knife at Cults Academy in Aberdeen.

The source said: “Police were called just before 9am to disarm the girl, who was wielding a knife.

“She had made threats to kill a fellow third year pupil. It took three policemen and one policewoman to disarm her. I don’t want Webster’s to be the next Cults Academy.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said :“Police Scotland can confirm that they were called to Webster’s High School, Kirrie muir, on 19 October in response to a 13- year old- pupil being in possession of a knife.

“The knife was handed over without incident and the girl is to be reported to the Children’s Reporter for possession of a knife within a school, and for threatening and abusive behaviour.”

Angus Council refused to reveal whether the pupil had been suspended and said: “The matter is the subject of a police report and it would not be appropriate to comment.”

In August last year a pupil from Montrose Academy was excluded from the school following an incident involving a knife.

Parents were sent letters to inform them of a lunch- time confrontation between two “older pupils” in which a knife was shown.

In October 2015 16- year- old Cults Academy pupil Bailey Gwynne was stabbed through the heart by Daniel Stroud — also 16 at the time.

A subsequent report into the Aberdeen shire te en’ s death concluded that the incident was “avoidable” and that consideration should be given to changing the law to “improve the resilience of schools”.

Last month Aberdeen City Council implemented a stronger policy to clamp down on weapons in schools.