An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of assault after he went on the rampage at his school and stabbed 20 children – with a NEEDLE.
Police were called to Moreton Community School, in Wolverhampton, following reports the youngster had attacked fellow pupils on Monday afternoon.
The injured kids were taken to hospital for hepatitis inoculations after having the diabetes needle plunged into their bodies during the terrifying incident.
The boy was arrested by officers at his home after school on Tuesday after worried parents dialled 999 following the attacks.
Today he was back at his home in Wolverhampton on bail as staff at the school tried to reassure concerned parents that the site was safe.
One mother, who did not wish to be named, spoke of her shock at being told that her 12-year-old son had been jabbed with the diabetes finger prick pen, which acts as a blood-sugar testing device.
She said: “It was worrying and shocking to be told what had happened.
“I had to sit in the hospital for four hours while my son had a blood test and a hepatitis B injection.
“When we came out the waiting room was full of other students.”
Mum-of-three Susan Parker,44, added: “I can’t believe this kind of thing could happen, how was this boy not supervised with a needle in class?
“Something must be wrong as well if he feels he can go and stab other children,
“If he’d go and do this with a needle, who is to say he wouldn’t use a knife in future?
“As parents we are all very worried.”
Headteacher Carl Williams called the incident “deeply concerning” and added: “As soon as we were alerted to it, we contacted parents of the children affected and spoke to the local police.
“We are also working closely with public health experts . While the risk of infection is low or negligible, children affected have been given a vaccination for hepatitis B.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said that none of the Year 7 children affected by the attack were seriously injured.
Low Hill Neighbourhood Police co-ordinator Steve Perry added: “We received three reports on June 2 from parents saying their children had been jabbed with a diabetes finger-prick pen by a fellow pupil while at Moreton Community School.
“Officers have identified as least 20 children it’s believed were jabbed with the pen.
“It has a needle ‘nib’ just 3mm in length so none of the children are seriously hurt and public health officials have advised that the chance of infection is negligible.
“However the pupils have been advised to have hepatitis injections as a precaution.
“An 11-year-old boy was arrested from his home address in Low Hill on Tuesday and having been questioned by police has been bailed till a date July pending further enquiries.”
All pupils involved in the incident were told to report to a local Accident and Emergency for a free hepatitis B vaccination.
The youngster was ordered to report back to a police station in a month’s time.
Ros Jervis, director of public health for Wolverhampton Council, said: “I am reassured that all agencies have responded very quickly to what is a very serious situation.”
Moreton Community School caters for over 700 boys and girls aged between 11 and 18 and had suffered a drop from “outstanding” to “requires improvement” following an Ofsted inspection in 2012.
The school was criticised for “inconsistent” teaching but pupil behaviour was described as “good”.
