Boy, 14, to be charged over Pembroke stabbing
Police to arraign minor in connection with St Clare College attack
A 14-year-old boy will appear in court on Tuesday evening in connection with a schoolyard stabbing at a Pembroke secondary school.
The child is expected to be criminally charged with having grievously injured his victim, who is also 14, with a knife. It is not clear whether prosecutors will also charge him with the more serious crime of attempted murder.
The arraignment is scheduled to begin at 6pm before Magistrate Abigail Critien.
Under Maltese law, minors aged 14 who are charged with crimes committed with “mischievous discretion” face penalties that are decreased by one or two degrees if convicted.
The stabbing incident took place in a schoolyard at St Clare College on Monday morning, as children were gathering before the start of the school day.
Sources told Times of Malta the accused was suspended for two days last week after being caught with a phone at school. When he returned to school on Monday, he demanded to know who had “snitched” on him to teachers.
He is then alleged to have lunged at his victim, slashing him on the arms and chest using a flick knife he brought to school.
Another boy is understood to have intervened, saving the victim from further injury.
Education Ministry sources told Times of Malta the accused boy had no history of violence.
Sources close to the child claim he faced years of bullying at school.
The incident sparked widespread concern among various parents whose children attend the college, with calls from some - including a former education minister - to install metal detectors and scanners at school entrances.
On Tuesday, the Education Ministry announced that it has set up a seven-person advisory board to look at ways in which schools can encourage better behaviour and student wellbeing, in light of the Pembroke incident.