A 14-year-old girl has been found guilty of the attempted murder of two teachers and a pupil at a school in West Wales.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had admitted three counts of wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article on a school premises, but denied attempted murder.
After a week-long trial at Swansea Crown Court, the jury of seven men and five women returned a unanimous guilty verdict on all three counts.
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The trial heard that on 24 April last year there was a “serious episode of violence” at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, after the girl took her father’s fishing “multi-tool” to school.
After her arrest, the teenager told officers she was “pretty sure” the incident would be on the news, and added “that’s one way to be a celebrity”.
That morning, Mrs Fiona Elias told the girl she was not allowed in the lower school hall as she “did not have permission” to be there.
The girl looked at her with “sinister eyes” and “appeared to be playing with something in the right-side pocket of her cargo trousers”.
During the mid-morning break, Mrs Elias was speaking with her colleague Mrs Liz Hopkin in an outdoor area near the lower hall.
The teenager approached Mrs Elias, again saying she wanted to go to the lower hall, before she pulled out what Mrs Elias described as “a penknife with a silver tip to it”.
The court heard the teenager said “I’m going to f***** kill you” as she attacked Mrs Elias.
The defendant was then moved to another part of the school where she attacked a pupil.
‘Serious injuries’
Swansea Crown Court heard the girl took a knife with her to school “every day”.
The court heard her father carried out daily bag checks after a previous incident in September 2023, but the teenager had left for school that day before he had a chance to check her bag.
Both Mrs Elias and Mrs Hopkin, who attempted to restrain the defendant, “received significant and serious injuries”.
Mrs Hopkin sustained “four stab wounds” and was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
Mrs Elias and the pupil also attended hospital for treatment.
‘One way to be a celebrity’
The jury was shown CCTV footage of the incident as well as body-worn footage.
In what the prosecution described as “significant, unsolicited comments”, the defendant could be heard saying: “I stabbed [the girl]… oopsies”.
“I’m pretty sure this is going to be on the news, so more eyes will be looking at me, that’s one way to be a celebrity,” she added.
She later asked officers, “How am I going to face my family after what I’ve done?”
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Giving evidence at trial, the defendant said she had been bullied “four, three times a week” and felt “anxious and scared”.
She said the attack was “really out of character” and “doesn’t seem like something [she] would do”.
Speaking outside court after the verdict, Mrs Elias said “no one wants to see a teenager being found guilty of and punished for attempted murder”.
“However, the incident that took place on 24 April was totally unacceptable. Today’s guilty verdict is not just for me but for all teachers everywhere,” she added.
“No member of school staff should ever feel fearful for their own safety, merely for carrying out their duties.”
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‘Thank you’ not enough’
Mrs Elias also gave thanks to police, emergency services and the Welsh Air Ambulance Service for “their outstanding work and care on the day of the incident”.
The teacher then said the guilty verdict “should be seen as a clear message for pupils across the country,” adding: “I would not want any other individual to go through the nightmare I have endured for the last nine months.
“For any other individual who has been through such an experience, you will know that the nightmare and trauma experienced will not end today with the guilty verdict.”
Mrs Elias also thanked Mrs Liz Hopkin, saying that “without her bravery, I may not be standing here today”.
“Liz, the words ‘thank you’ are not enough,” she added.
The teenager will be sentenced on 28 April.
