Education department now says ‘multi-tool’ used in brutal schoolyard fight was a knife

Police are yet to lay any charges over a brutal armed fight at Palmerston College middle school more than a fortnight ago, despite the whole thing being caught on camera.

• Best and worst student to teacher ratios in Palmerston schools
• New Palmerston school to open in 2020
• ’Bullied’ for defending friend
• Two Palmerston schools to merge

Police are yet to lay any charges over a brutal armed fight at Palmerston College middle school more than a fortnight ago, despite the whole thing being caught on camera.

And a police spokesman has confirmed the weapon used in the fight was a knife, calling in to question the accuracy of a letter sent home to parents describing it as a “folding multi-tool”.

Parents at the school have told the NT News that students are frequently bringing weapons to school and that serious violence is “out of control”, concerns the Education Department deny.

Footage of the fight, filmed by a student and obtained by the NT News, shows a lone female teacher unable to control the armed student from attacking his first target.

The first victim trips and falls to the ground dodging what appear to be attempts by the attacker to slash him.

Other students then fend off the attacker from his grounded first victim, only for the attacker to turn on a second boy, who he lays blows on, one with a sickening crack.

MORE FROM THE NT NEWS

• MUM accused of killing son in car crash fronts court
• CRAZED fisho jailed after violent armed outburst at Buff Creek
• CON MAN a “dog” to his family, court told

Bystanders confirmed to the NT News attacker had the blade of the knife drawn.

The footage and bystander accounts are in contrast to the letter sent home to parents, which said the “multi-tool” had “no blades exposed”.

Education Department acting chief executive Leanne Nixon, when asked to comment on the description provided by police, said the weapon was a “multi-tool pocket knife”.

She did not say whether she thought parents had been misled by the previous description of the weapon.

The letter home to parents also said the “incident was dealt with quickly by staff”, although the footage shows the teacher helplessly trying to contain the fight, which was largely broken up by fellow students.

Ms Nixon confirmed yesterday the second victim was taken to hospital and was off school for a week.

NT News tablet art

CLICK here for full details of offer above

Ms Nixon said other weapons had been seized from students at the school this year, but would not say how many, because the school does not tally the number of weapons it seizes.

Palmerston College middle school campus was previously known as “Rosebery College”, but was renamed at the start of 2018 amid dwindling enrolments and image problem.

A teacher at the Palmerston College senior school campus, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said violence at the college’s middle school campus now threatened the hard-earned reputation of the senior school.

An NT Police spokesman declined to answer specific questions about the incident but said the investigation was ongoing and no charges had been laid.