Shaftesbury student hits teacher with hammer

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This article was published 26/04/2022 (1283 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A student at Shaftesbury High School hit a teacher Tuesday with a hammer and reportedly chased her as she fled from the classroom.

Sources told the Free Press the student was restrained by other staff during the morning incident. While the teacher at the Grant Avenue facility did not require hospital care, she was shaken up, sources said.

Pembina Trails School Division confirmed the assault and provided a copy of a letter sent to parents Tuesday afternoon, which outlined the incident and the steps the division would take next.

“This morning, a student hit a teacher with a hammer that the student had brought to school. The teacher called for help. The student left the classroom and was escorted to the office. The student’s family was notified and the student is now at home,” the letter says.

The message noted police were present “out of an abundance of caution,” but added the division couldn’t comment on what law enforcement planned to do.

Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon confirmed officers responded around 11:30 a.m.

School resource officers safely de-escalated the situation and removed a youth, McKinnon said in an email, noting police made no arrests.

The division’s letter says the teacher was recovering at home, while the school’s social worker stayed with the class to offer support to students.

Students in nearby classes heard the commotion but “took appropriate measures to remain safe” with the help of their teachers.

“We wish to commend the staff and the students for staying calm and responding in ways that allow school staff to manage and resolve this serious incident,” the letter reads, adding witnessing violence could cause trauma or feelings of anxiousness, worry and anger.

The west Winnipeg school will also initiate a “threat assessment process” to ensure safety, the letter says.

The incident happened suddenly and most students were confused as to what actually happened, Grade 11 students Ariel and Ilia told the Free Press early Tuesday afternoon, while getting some air outside the school grounds.

“It was around the third period before lunch. We were in class so, we didn’t really get a lot of details, but we had a lockdown,” said Ariel, 16.

At that point, both students had heard it was because a student was running on school grounds with a hammer, but they hadn’t yet received any confirmation.

“We didn’t even know if it was true… we still don’t know,” said Ilia, 16.

The lockdown was over by the time the pair were on lunch break, and both said they were expected to be back in class after lunch. There’d been panic from some students, the teens said, but others hadn’t even realized anything had happened.

“We just heard it from some other friends. There was word going around and we had the lockdown, and they were all panicking, all of our friends,” Ariel said.

— with files from Malak Abas and Maggie Macintosh

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera