Police swarmed a Melbourne school this afternoon after a male staff member allegedly stabbed the Principal.
The incident took place at Keysborough College in Melbourne’s southeast around 3pm today, triggering a lockdown on campus.
Students were instructed to hide under tables while teachers tried to keep them calm and safe.
“We hid under the tables and didn’t make a sound for 20 minutes,” one of the school’s students told the Herald Sun. “It felt scary … I’m shocked.”
The Principal was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Both the Principal and the staff member who was arrested at the scene will be interviewed by police.
Meanwhile, investigators are working to establish what led to the alleged attack at the school.
Recent reports show that more than 80% of Australian principals have experienced critical incidents in their schools including violent security threats.
According to the latest research from the Australian Catholic University‘s (ACU) Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, instances of physical violence increased by 81.6% since the survey started in 2011. Threats of violence are also at their highest since inception.
Offensive behaviours towards principals escalated in 2024, with 49.6% subjected to physical violence and more than half (54.5%) experiencing threats of violence. Of those reporting threats of violence, 80.4% were at the hands of students.
The investigation following the incident at Keysborough College today remains ongoing.