Disturbing moment schoolboy, 12, calmly ‘stalks playground with massive knife in front of terrified pupils’

Disturbing footage has captured a schoolboy calmly stalking a playground while wielding a massive knife as terrified pupils watch on.

Police rushed to Reddish Vale High in Stockport on Monday afternoon following reports that a 12-year-old boy was brandishing a blade.

In clips of the incident widely shared online, pupils can be heard shouting ‘what are you doing man?’ and ‘why have you got a knife?’

Nervous giggles are audible as the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, prowls around the playground flashing the weapon.

A 12-year-old was arrested and remanded in custody, police later confirmed.

He has since been charged with attempted assault, possession of a bladed article, threatening a person with an offensive weapon and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Appearing at Salford Youth Court, the boy pleaded guilty to several offences, among them attempted wounding, possession of an offensive weapon on school premises and threatening a person with a weapon on school premises.

District Judge Lucy Hogarth said in court: ‘Even at the young age of 12, you know that somebody could have been very seriously hurt or killed.

‘When you are 12, you might not know how long people are expected to live and that school should be a safe place for people.’

The boy was released on bail and is due to be sentenced on March 25.

Parents of children at the school say the incident follows a similar situation last week when a pupil was threatened with a knife near school grounds.

One concerned parent told the Manchester Evening News that they will not be sending their children back to class until they ‘can be reassured our children are safe’.

Another mother, whose son is in Year 7, said she is considering not allowing her child to attend for the rest of the week and might even enrol him in a different school.

A parent who shared the footage from the scene online said she was asked by the school to take it down but responded: ‘I haven’t, because people have got a right to know that their kids are safe when they go to school and clearly they’re not.’

A local told The Sun of their disgust at the boy’s bail release and that the area has since been in ‘panic’.

They added: ‘We thought he’d been locked up and put in custody.’

A spokesperson for Stockport Borough Council said: ‘We are aware of the distressing incident that took place at Reddish Vale School earlier today and we understand the concerns being shared by parents, students and the wider community.

‘The police were on site to deal with the incident and make the school safe and we are thankful no one was harmed.

‘We are working closely with the school to support them and want to reassure everyone that the safety of pupils and teachers is our highest priority.’

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: ‘Officers were called to a school on Reddish Vale Road in Stockport at around 3:10pm Monday 10 February following reports of a person with a knife on the premises.

‘Thankfully, no one sustained any serious injuries. A 12-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article.

‘He has been taken into police custody.’

Police have assured residents of ‘additional patrols’ to be placed in the area.