Pembroke school stabbing followed student’s phone suspension

A 14-year-old student who stabbed a schoolmate in Pembroke on Monday had just returned to school following a suspension he blamed his victim for. 

Multiple sources said the boy had been suspended for two days the previous week after he was caught using a mobile phone at school. He returned to school on Monday and clashed with another boy in a yard at St Clare College, as children were gathering at the start of the day.

Eyewitnesses said the boy entered the schoolyard and began asking "who snitched on me?"

He then confronted the victim, accusing him of informing teachers about his phone. 

The victim denied having anything to do with that. The aggressor is then alleged to have taken out a flick knife and attacked the victim, hitting him in the arms and chest. 

Another student intervened and attempted to stop the attack. An eyewitness said the intervention saved the victim from further injury. 

Police said the victim, also aged 14, was taken to the hospital in a stable condition. Officers questioned the alleged aggressor in the presence of his parents. He has not yet been charged with any crime.   

According to Malta's criminal code, minors charged with criminal offences committed with malicious intent have sentences reduced by up to two degrees if convicted.

Two separate school sources also claimed the aggressor threatened the college principal when he showed up to respond to the schoolyard commotion. 

Times of Malta was unable to independently verify that claim at the time of writing. 

Claims of bullying

Sources close to the aggressor said he had been subjected to "years" of school bullying. Education Ministry sources said the aggressor's school records show no history of violent behaviour.  

Emergency services were called to the school, located on Martin Luther King Road, at around 7.45am. Police later said the situation was under control and urged parents not to worry.

Both children involved in the incident are Libyan nationals who moved to Malta with their families when they were just three years old. 

The Education Ministry said it could not comment as a magisterial inquiry was underway but confirmed it was cooperating fully with the investigation.

“As you may appreciate, a magisterial inquiry is currently underway, and for this reason, the ministry cannot comment any further. What I can confirm is that the ministry is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigations,” a spokesperson said.

Police said the investigation was in its “very, very early stages” and could not provide further information.

The incident prompted a former education minister, Evarist Bartolo, to call for metal detectors to be installed in schools to scan schoolbags. 

That call echoes a similar one made by a teachers' union, the Union of Professional Educators, in 2023. The UPE pushed for airport-style scanners in schools after a 12-year-old girl at a Naxxar school chased a schoolmate with a butter knife.