A 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of attempted murder after stabbing a 15-year-old girl in the back with a kitchen knife at Thorpe St Andrew School in Norfolk, England.
According to the Press Association, the jury at King's Lynn Crown Court convicted the boy on Wednesday after three hours and 54 minutes of deliberation. Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told the court the boy went to the school on March 11 not to learn but to kill, describing him as dressed in black, masked up and tooled up with a kitchen knife. The school went into lockdown after the attack, which prompted an armed police response.
The boy, who was 15 at the time of the attack, had an obsessive and dangerous interest in killers and killing and had written in a note about his hatred for women, the prosecution said, Classic FM reports. Police found a handwritten list of names headed victims with a question mark after the attack. He had pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of a knife at a school but denied attempted murder and did not give evidence in his defense.
Mr Justice Lickley told the boy he faced a custodial sentence of some considerable length and set sentencing for December 18, according to the Press Association. The judge said it was down to sheer good fortune that the girl was not more badly hurt; she was taken to hospital and later discharged.
The judge ordered a report on the issue of dangerousness to be prepared before sentencing, according to the Press Association. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was led to the cells after the verdict. The case has reignited debate in Britain about teenage knife crime and how schools respond to warning signs.