‘Distressing’: Man charged after allegedly stabbing principal at Keysborough Secondary College

A Melbourne high school was placed into lockdown after an alleged stabbing left its principal injured and a staff member in custody. Photo / Getty

A man has been charged after a principal was stabbed in a “traumatic” incident at a high school in southeast Melbourne.

Students at Keysborough Secondary College’s Acacia campus were forced to hide under their desks during the alleged altercation between principal Aaron Sykes, 43, and a colleague at around 3pm (local time) on Tuesday afternoon.

Victoria Police said Sykes was taken to hospital, where he is recovering, and that two men had been arrested.

On Wednesday morning, police confirmed they had arrested a 37-year-old Mulgrave man, who was taken to hospital with a minor injury.

He remained under police guard and has since been charged with a string of offences, including recklessly engaging in conduct placing a person in danger of serious injury, intentionally causing injury, two counts of unlawful assault and assault with a weapon. He will appear at Dandenong Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Media reports allege the man who stabbed Sykes was a teacher at the school.

In a letter to parents and students overnight, Keysborough assistant principals Richard Hastings and Natalie Fode described the incident as “distressing”.

“Aaron was assisted by emergency services at the soonest opportunity and taken to hospital,” the letter read.

“We have spoken to Aaron and he is recovering well and in good spirits given the circumstances.

“No students were involved in the incident in any way.

“The alleged perpetrator is with police and will not at any stage be back on school grounds.

“As this is currently a police matter, we cannot comment further.

“Any form of violence within our school is entirely unacceptable. We are proud of the safe and supportive culture that is the norm at our school.

Keysborough Secondary College principal Aaron Sykes. Photo / Facebook

“We want to assure you that the health and safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority.”

A Victoria Police spokesperson said in a statement that “officers quickly arrived on [the] scene and arrested a man [who] will be interviewed”.

“The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries consistent with a stabbing,” they said.

“At this stage investigators believe the people involved are known to each other.”

Students were reported to have hidden under their desks for up to 20 minutes.

“We didn’t make a sound. It felt scary … I’m shocked,” one told the Herald Sun.

“A couple of minutes after the school bell rang, there was an emergency lockdown announcement.

“All the students and teachers had to get into one room and wait.”

The incident follows the recent introduction of new laws by Premier Jacinta Allan’s government that add three years’ jail time for knife-related crimes in Victoria, after an influx of recent violent incidents.

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