Boy, 17, arrested for knife possession after fight

Exterior shot of Sheffield City College, with signs saying City Campus, and stone, glass and steel buildings behind.Image source, Simon Thake/BBC
Image caption,

No injuries were reported following the incident at The Sheffield College, police say

  • Published

A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article and of affray after a fight at a college in Sheffield.

Police were called to The Sheffield College on Granville Road at about 13:00 GMT to reports a fight had broken out between students, with one of them allegedly having been seen with a knife.

A 17-year-old boy was subsequently arrested on Alderson Road, just over a mile (1.5km) from the campus, and students later left the site "as normal", a South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for The Sheffield College said: "South Yorkshire Police were contacted and arrived quickly to deal with the incident. We can confirm that there were no injuries."

The safety of students and staff at the college was "our utmost priority", they said.

"We have high expectations of our students. Where behaviour falls short of those expectations, we will take swift action to address it and are supporting South Yorkshire Police with their investigation," the spokesperson said.

A student at the college had been suspended pending further investigation, they added.

'Considerable concern'

Ch Insp Katie Rowland-Wilson, from South Yorkshire Police, said: "I want to make it clear that, although we are in the early stages of our inquiries, we have a boy in custody and we remain on scene to engage with the college community and offer our reassurances.

"We are now working to understand the full circumstances of what happened and we will remain in the area on our regular patrols.

"We understand news of this incident will cause considerable concern, particularly among parents and guardians.

"I'd encourage anyone who has concerns to speak to an officer when you see them and would urge anyone with information which could help our inquiries to report it to us."

The college's City Campus is located just a short distance from All Saints High School, where 15-year-old pupil Harvey Willgoose was stabbed to death in February.

Student 'petrified'

A student at the college told the BBC after the incident that she felt "petrified" about returning to the site close to Sheffield city centre.

She said that "security guards and teachers do make it safe," but she had seen fights regularly.

The girl's mum, Zoe, added: "After what happened at All Saints I fear for my children every day, sending them to school.

"Children are obliged to go to school and college for an education and they are frightened. As parents we have got to stand together."

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