The local public school board is conducting a review following an incident at a Blenheim elementary school that saw a student stabbed repeatedly with a pencil.
Shrewsbury resident and mother Julie Gates told CKXS News that her 11-year-old son was aggressively attacked by another student at Harwich Raleigh Public School on September 23, following a simple disagreement between the two youths.
“The kid just snapped and started stabbing [my son] repeatedly in the head with a pencil,” said Gates. “My son at the time thought he was being punched because of the adrenaline until all of the kids started screaming that he was bleeding everywhere.
“It was definitely a traumatic incident, I’m sure, for everyone involved witnessing that.”
Gates said her son was taken to hospital, where he was treated for injuries to the back of his head and shoulders. She added that medical staples were required to close one of the wounds.
“There was a lot of damage,” she said. “It could have ended a lot worse than it did.”
Upon becoming aware of the situation, officials with Lambton-Kent District School Board (LKDSB) said students were moved to a safe location. Parents and guardians, along with the appropriate emergency response personnel, were also contacted.
“We can confirm that the school followed established board procedures in response to the incident,” LKDSB officials said in an emailed response.
CKXS News has reached out to the Chatham-Kent Police Service, but police officials have not provided further details about their response to the incident.
Gates says she commends the school for its response to the stabbing, but expressed concerns about the how the incident was able to happen in the first place. She added that this was not the first time the her son’s attacker has acted aggressively towards other students, and hopes the school board will take the appropriate action to ensure no one else gets hurt.
“I can probably count at least 10 parents who have reached out to me and told me about incidents that they had with the same child,” said Gates.
While the student in question has not been back to school since the incident, Gates said the school board has not contacted her about its plans to address the situation.
“I will definitely be following up with them,” said Gates. “They claim they’re safe schools… but in practice it doesn’t seem to actually be getting escalated as it should when you have these repeated issues and you have these serious problems. I don’t thinks it’s being addressed as seriously as it should.”
School board officials said they are unable comment on specific students or student discipline matters due to privacy legislation.
“The school is continuing to conduct a thorough review of the incident. As with any significant student safety matter, the board and school administration work closely to assess the circumstances, determine appropriate next steps, and identify any additional measures that may be required,” LKDSB officials said. “The safety and well-being of students and staff remains our highest priority.”
In the meantime, Gates said her son is healing well and was able to return school early last week.
