Boy, 15, sentenced after stabbing teacher in the gut as he told him 'I'm sorry' and warned police before attack

28 September 2023, 19:35

A teenage boy tipped off police then told a teacher he was sorry before stabbing him with a knife in a school corridor.

The 15-year-old, who has now been given a 14-month detention order, attacked maths teacher Jamie Sansom at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire in July.

He told him "come here" then lunged at him. The stabbing left Sansom with a small wound to his stomach.

Bristol Youth Court was told the attacker dumped his snood and backpack before fleeing, then texted his mother to say: "I am sorry. Goodbye forever but remember this I always loved you guys."

Prosecutor Christine Hart said he was seen going into a school toilet cubicle before the attack.

There, he called the emergency services and told them he overheard a conversation indicating a teacher was going to be stabbed.

Read more: Fellow pupil of schoolgirl stabbed to death in Croydon describes heartbreaking moment students were told of her killing

He then knocked on a classroom door and attacked Sansom with a six-inch kitchen knife as he apologised.

The teacher managed to get back as the boy attacked him, then then teenager ran off.

Armed officers arrested him as the school went into lockdown for hour hours.

The pupil, who cannot be named for legal reasons, never told police why he did it. He previously admitted attempting to unlawfully wound the teacher and possessing a bladed article.

Sansom, who has since left the school, said in a victim impact statement that he "never thought this would happen in a school or to me" and could not fathom why he was targeted.

"I hold no ill will to him of what happened, but he needs to understand that actions have consequences," he added.

"It's not OK to take a knife into school and the problem with knives is not going away.

"I think the education system is stretched and students realise that and I think this is something the education sector needs to do more to prevent incidents like this."

Defending the boy, James McKenna said he was "extremely sorry", that his mental health was bad and he has suffered from anxiety and depression triggered by bullying, though police have not been able to find reports of that.

Sentencing him to 14 months in detention, of which half will be served in custody and the rest at home, District Judge Lynne Matthews said the teenager was "not acting impulsively".

"You told him that you were sorry, and you stretched out your arm and moved slowly in a stabbing motion towards his stomach and he saw you were holding a knife and moved backwards.

"But the knife still made contact with his stomach, and he felt a sharp painful sensation. He shouted at you, 'What are you doing?' and you ran away.

"This offence is very serious and your intention was to really seriously injure Mr Sansom and it is good fortune he stepped back."

She added: "This is something you see on the television about America - not Tewkesbury."