A 13-year-old Shenton College student who took a box cutter to school, threatened staff and students, and stole the cash register from the canteen has avoided further jail time over the March incident.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to taking the knife to school and launching a physical assault on 10 students and a teacher – which included punching, kicking and shoving them to the ground.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was already on bail, and will appear in court again in May.Credit: Holly Thompson
He went on to threaten a 66-year-old canteen employee with the knife, yelling, “give me the money, give me the money”, before he grabbed the cash register, stomped on it to rip it from the wall, and left the school with it in his possession.
During the boy’s sentencing hearing on Monday, Perth Children’s Court was told he had little recollection for his offending, which was described as “confronting”.
“[You were] marching around, randomly belting and hitting people,” Magistrate Andrée Horrigan said.
The court was previously told the boy sent messages to a friend the night before the incident, asking them to record the assaults, before writing: “I want you to film at recess, at recess, Imma [sic] stab his ass.”
His grandfather was at the school to pick the boy up when the incident occurred.
The court was told some of the victims were as young as 11 years old, and the boy’s defence team said he had a “gangster attitude about him”, was “constantly trying to impress”, and that he craved his peers’ acceptance.
After he was arrested, the boy was taken to Royal Perth Hospital, where a police officer reported he repeatedly claimed he would source a gun to return and shoot at the school, before stating firearms cost too much and, if released, he would commit a robbery but take hostages to avoid arrest.
He went on to spend 37 days in custody before being released on bail, but breached his conditions months later by going within 100 metres of Shenton College. He also pleaded guilty to attempting to steal sunglasses at Leederville Skate Park in August.
The court was told the boy had recently become a ward of the state and was accessing mental health support.
He was given a six-month intensive supervision order, which included counselling and strict conditions.
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