Stunned-can't quite believe it.

Sorry, I ought to have said, of course this begins in the home and most parents do a good enough job but schools do have an important role. One of my children reports alarming levels of swearing and violence at primary schools. Not good enough is it.

I hope we never need metal detecting arches. I worked in the courts for years so had my bags searched and walked through metal detecting arches every morning. The process involved 2 'guards', police officers nearby in case they were needed and especially at times of heightened security alert, resulted in queues of people waiting to go through. I'm not minimising this recent murder, nor the one involving the clearly much loved Ann Maguire (teacher) but I'm not sure we're at that level of alert yet. I do hope I'm not being complacent.
I don't know how others feel but I believe we need more personal/social education in schools that covers relationships, how to deal with anger and frustration and the risks of knives/guns/violence etc. The way in which so many of our young people seem to be over exposed to sexual and other violence is alarming to me.

I would start the metal detecting arches flashing with the amount of metal inside my body.

I do feel that it's time schools had security guards; I fear for my daughter when she teaches and never thought years ago that I would say that.

How much do metal detecting arches cost? The police use portable ones for political conferences etc. Use them randomly in streets, stations, at school gates.
Although I don't dwell on it, I occasionally wonder how many people I share public transport with or pass in the street have weapons. Also a lot of drivers seem to carry items which could be used as weapons in their boots.

There was a murder (another one!) here in Boston on Friday teatime. It`s the 7th violent crime in the town this year, and the second one to result in someone`s death. We`ve also got beyond being shocked anymore, just resigned, because te extremely large influx of E.European immigrants has resulted in lots of crime in the town. Every one of these violent happenings has involved E.Europeans, who seem to think it is normal to carry a knife or a gun on their person when they go out. There have been 2 of these crimes on one particular shopping street in town, at a time when folk are still out shopping! Our MP went to see the shopkeepers in the street and told them that this will not be tolerated. How the HELL is he going to stop it??!!!

This happened in a 'good' school in an affluent area-just shows it can happen anywhere.

George Burrows wrote that boys would fight to the death in the Edinburgh of his youth, late Victorian times I think so not new.
Thank God we don't have America's gun culture.

I think its too many violent films, each new one seems to get more violent and parents don't seem to watch the children nowadays, its so easy for them to see unsuitable stuff as they can watch films on their phones, internet and games consoles, they have tvs in their bedrooms and has anyone noticed the swearing on tv nowadays, the watershed doesn't seem to exist at times.

That poor boy it could happen anywhere, they need security staff in schools like they do in America.

so do I

I agree with petra

I'm afraid my response mirrors the one expressed by Nelliemoser - be glad we don't live the the US where guns are so readily available.

Seriously though, one of my friends says this is the 3rd teen stabbing he'd read about this week. I know I'm getting older because I find myself wondering about violent video games as a risk to developing minds. I've read interviews with teenage boys after stabbing incidents, when the lads say they carry a knife "for safety" - it's lunacy isn't it.

When did life become so cheap in this country? We used to say this about underdeveloped countries if that doesn't sound patronising but it is true. I have lived for 78 years now and I remember when any murder was front page news, it still is in cases like this because of the age of the victim and the perpetrator but murder happens daily with no real outrage.I dread the world my GC are growing up in.

What I find sad is that I'm not shocked or surprised anymore.

So very sad.

It just shouldn't happen.

.

How terribly sad, poor lad and his family.
I really struggle to get my head around the mentality of some young people nowadays where carrying a knife is considered the norm.

Sadly I guess it could happen anywhere, so frightening.

That is very sad but be glad you don't live in the USA.

It's all over Twiiter. How sad.