Boy, 16, admits stabbing pupil in school canteen

William Kerr repeatedly attacked David Graham in the packed cafeteria at Glasgow's Whitehill Secondary last September.

David had stepped in to break up a row after Kerr had been jabbed with a pen by another boy. But, Kerr, 16, turned on David and chased him before stabbing him across the body.

The victim was left requiring surgery following the incident that left him "a shadow of his former self".

Kerr now faces jail for the attack, which occurred at the same school where a girl was murdered by another pupil in the 1990s.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard the stabbing happened on the morning of 13 September last year at the secondary in Dennistoun. David and Kerr were just some of the many pupils in the school canteen during an interval. The bell then sounded to end the break and the children headed back to their classes.

As they did, a boy nudged Kerr and blocked his path. Kerr then confronted this youngster before a third boy repeatedly jabbed the accused with a pen. Morag McLintock, prosecuting, said David then tried to break-up a potential fight by putting Kerr in a headlock. It was then that Kerr brought out a knife from his pocket.

Fiscal Miss McLintock told the court: "David saw this knife and released Kerr from the headlock as he was surprised and frightened. He then ran to the vending machines near the exit of the cafeteria. Various pupils then saw Kerr chase the boy with the knife pointing towards him. Pupils and teachers then witnessed Kerr assault David and saw him strike him repeatedly with the knife on the body."

Headteacher Iain Liveston and colleague Angus Morrison then moved in and grabbed Kerr. He still had the blade, but eventually handed it over to Mr Liveston.

David, now 17, was rushed to the city's Royal Infirmary for treatment. The court heard he suffered a 1cm stab wound to his chest, three wounds to his buttocks and a 4cm cut to his hand. There was no damage to any organs, but nerves in his hand were sliced. He later required an operation and has been left with permanent scarring as a result of the attack.

Kerr, of the city's Longston Road, Cranhill, was arrested and questioned by police. He admitted attacking David, but claimed he had been "stabbed" with a pen minutes earlier although he did not know by whom. Kerr also claimed he had found the knife in school after it had been "dropped" by another pupil.

Sheriff Craig Henry deferred sentencing until next month for reports. Members of David's family left court without commenting.

A friend said later that the attack had devastated both the teenager and his family. He said: "It has just been horrible - David has not been back at school since and he is a shadow of his former self. His mum works in the office at the school and was in on the day this happened.

"When she heard of the attack, she rushed to the [cafeteria] and saw David injured and bleeding heavily. You can only try and imagine what that is like."

Whitehill Secondary was where Barbara Glover murdered fellow pupil Diane Watson in 1991 in an attack that shocked the country. Glover, then just 15, stabbed Diane in the heart and liver with a kitchen knife in the school playground. She was jailed, but released in 2000.