A 14-year-old girl has been charged with three counts of attempted murder following a triple stabbing at a Manchester high school, after the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges and counter-terrorism detectives confirmed the case remains under active investigation.
The teenager was charged on Thursday 11 June with three counts of attempted murder and two charges of possessing a bladed article on school premises, the Manchester Evening News reports. She was due to appear before Manchester Magistrates’ Court.
Officers were called to Co-op Academy Manchester on Plant Hill Road in Blackley on Tuesday 9 June following reports that three people had been injured. The victims were identified as a 14-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and a 27-year-old male member of staff, all of whom were taken to hospital with injuries described by Greater Manchester Police as not believed to be life-threatening. According to ITV News Granada, the 14-year-old suspect was initially detained under the Mental Health Act following her arrest.
Chief Inspector Jon Shilvock of Greater Manchester Police said school staff intervened before officers arrived at the scene and detained the suspect, preventing any further injuries, and that the situation was brought under control quickly with no wider threat to the school community.
Det Chief Supt Jonathan Chadwick, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: “These are extremely serious charges against a young girl and, working closely with Greater Manchester Police, we continue to support the victims and their families and offer support to the wider school community, who have been deeply affected by what happened. Although charges have now been secured, our investigation is still ongoing, and we continue to work with local policing colleagues in the Blackley area.”
The case is the latest in a series of serious knife-related incidents involving teenage girls in UK schools in recent years, including a 2024 case in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, in which a then-13-year-old girl was convicted of the attempted murder of two teachers and a pupil and sentenced to 15 years’ detention. The teenager in the Manchester case cannot be identified for legal reasons.
