Ellenbrook Secondary College in lockdown after student stabbed in knife attack
Police patrol the school on Monday afternoon. (ABC News)
In short:
A teenage boy has been stabbed in the arm in a "targeted" knife attack at a Perth school, which sent it into lockdown.
Authorities were called to Ellenbrook Secondary College in Perth's north-east about 3pm on Monday, following reports of "an altercation between a group of youths".
Police say six juvenile males are assisting them with enquiries, and they are looking for one more who is believed to have been involved in the altercation.
A teenage boy has been taken to hospital after being stabbed in the arm in a "targeted" knife attack that saw a Perth high school go into lockdown on Monday afternoon.
Police said they were called to Ellenbrook Secondary College, in Perth's north-east, about 3pm after receiving a report of "an altercation between a group of youths".
Inspector Gary Butler said the incident happened outside the main college building where a boy aged 15 or 16, who was a student at the school, was attacked by a group of young people.
A teenage student was stabbed at Ellenbrook Secondary College on Monday afternoon. (ABC News)
"The group of youths were armed, police responded extremely quickly and we have six juvenile males in custody helping us with our enquiries," he said.
"The victim has a puncture wound to his left bicep, it's luckily not serious and we're very thankful for that."
Inspector Butler said the wound was caused by a knife.
The school went into lockdown after the attack. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)
"This is a tragic and completely unacceptable situation," he said.
"All students have the right to feel safe when they're at school.
"It's really unfortunate that juveniles or any person still thinks it's right to carry knives in public."
Inspector Butller says investigations are at an early stage. (ABC News)
The boy's alleged attackers were not students at the school, he said.
"You can imagine it's just very traumatic that you're witnessing such an event, you just want to leave school and go home, and get confronted with this kind of incident," Inspector Butler said.
There were no public safety concerns as the incident was a "targeted attack".
But police are still looking for one more person thought to be involved, who had escaped, and are reviewing CCTV footage.
Speaking to reporters at the school, a witness reported seeing the group of boys enter the school grounds in ski masks and carrying weapons.
Parents told to stay away
In an email to parents, seen by the ABC this afternoon, the school said the college was "currently in lockdown as a precautionary measure to address an issue on campus".
"Please note: the incident occurred after the final bell and not all students are on the premises," the note said.
Ellenbrook Secondary College is located 27 kilometres away from Perth, in the city's north-east. (ABC News: Nicolas Perpitch)
"Authorities have been notified and are assisting us.
"We ask that you do not come to the college at this time, as this may interfere with safety protocols."
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