Girl, 14, vowed to ‘do something stupid’ before stabbing two teachers and school pupil

A 14-year-old girl told friends she was going to “do something stupid” before stabbing a classmate and two teachers at her school, a court heard.

On Monday, the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of the attempted murders of Fiona Elias, Liz Hopkin and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, on April 24 last year.

Swansea Crown Court heard how before the attack, the girl had told friends she wanted to do something to get expelled.

After being arrested she commented to police: “I stabbed her – oopsies. I’m pretty sure this is going to be on the news, so more eyes will be looking at me. That’s one way to be a celebrity.”

The girl, who was 13 at the time, had admitted three counts of wounding with intent and a further count of possession of a bladed article on a school premises, but denied attempted murder.

The trial heard how the teenager attacked Mrs Elias during the morning break using her father’s multi-tool.

Ms Hopkin stepped in to help, attempting to restrain the girl, but received injuries to her neck, back and legs.

The teenager then stabbed another girl, before being restrained by staff.

During the week-long trial, the jury was told how she attacked the first teacher, yelling: “I’m going to f—ing kill you.”

Drawings found in her home referenced Mrs Elias and the girl she attacked, with one note saying the girl will “burn” and another reading “cut their mouths and eyes”.

Giving evidence, the girl told jurors that she was sorry for the incident and could not remember large parts of what happened.

“It doesn’t sound like me. It doesn’t feel like something I would do,” she said.

She was found guilty of attempted murder, with the judge adjourning sentencing for reports.

All three victims survived the attack, but Ms Hopkin, who was stabbed in the neck, had to be flown to Cardiff by air ambulance.

The girl’s father told The Times that his daughter had reached “breaking point” before the stabbing.

He said she was “responsible for her actions” but claimed that “unfortunately, her actions have some merit”.

He added: “When you have somebody of authority who is pushing down on you and they are not listening and you are getting constantly bullied, everyone is going to have a breaking point and she got to her breaking point, I believe.

“At home, prior to it all happening, I could see she was getting depressed and she was self-harming. This was a sign.”

Det Ch Supt Ross Evans, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: “This was an incredibly distressing incident, which not only resulted in three people being physically harmed, but also had a profound impact on the wellbeing of pupils who were present at the time.

“We wish them well as they continue to recover from an incident they should never had to witness at such young ages.

“School should be a safe place, a sanctuary for the pupils that attend it, and weapons have no place within their grounds.

“We will not tolerate any attempt to compromise the safety of children or staff, and as demonstrated here we will act swiftly on the very rare occasion they are put at risk.”

He thanked emergency services colleagues and staff at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman for the way they dealt with the incident, and the local community for the support offered to pupils.

Det Ch Supt Evans added: “Now that criminal proceedings have come to an end, I ask that we let life at Dyffryn Aman get back to normal so the pupils and staff can focus on their education.”

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel