12-year-old girl charged over wounding at Sunshine Coast school

Media have been denied access to court proceedings involving a Sunshine Coast student charged over an alleged wounding that sent a school into lockdown.

Media outlets were denied access to court proceedings involving a Sunshine Coast girl charged over an alleged wounding. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Media outlets have been denied access to court proceedings involving a Sunshine Coast girl charged over the wounding of another school student.

A 12-year-old girl was taken into police custody on Tuesday, October 3 following an alleged incident which forced a Sunshine Coast high school into lockdown.

The school went into lockdown for about an hour from 9.30am and police allege the girl was found by officers with a knife.

The girl was charged with one count each of wounding, going armed so as to cause fear, possession of a knife in a public place, two counts of common assault and three counts of wilful damage.

She was denied police bail on Tuesday and due to appear at Maroochydore Children’s Court on Wednesday, October 4.

The Sunshine Coast Daily and ABC applied to the court to be present in the courtroom for the matters, however the application was denied.

Legal Aid Queensland lawyer Rachel Holland told the court there was a risk the girl would be identified within the community based on details potentially published by media.

Deputy chief magistrate Stephen Courtney, who denied the applications, said the 12-year-old girl’s family received threats in what he described as a “social media pile up”.

Police allege a 12-year-old boy sustained a non-life-threatening cut to his abdomen in the alleged incident.

He was taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital but was released on Tuesday afternoon.

It was alleged two other students were threatened by not injured.

Under Queensland law, Children's Court matters are held before a magistrate in closed court unless permission is granted for media to attend.