Mum’s ‘horror’ after daughter terrified to return to primary school after Year 3 boy brings knife

A young girl was terrified of returning to class for days after a Year 3 boy allegedly made a death threat then showed her a knife he had smuggled into a primary school in Perth’s south. The girl’s mother told The West Australian of her concerns after her daughter’s classmate brought a steak knife to school on Thursday last week. She said the boy made threats the previous day to kill a trio of girls after a student suggested to him that he had a crush on one of them. The mother said that her daughter told her that the boy coaxed the students over to his backpack, then pulled the knife out and showed it to them. They ran away and hid, with another child telling a teacher, who confiscated the knife. She was “horrified” that a Year 3 child would resort to bringing a knife to school. The mum did not allow her daughter to return to class until Wednesday this week because she was not happy with how the school handled the incident. “I didn’t feel comfortable or safe sending her until they could tell me what safety measures had been put in place,” she said. She believed that it was not fair the three girls had been forced to attend a conflict resolution session with the boy, where they were told to apologise for their non-threatening comment. “When they rang me, it was completely downplayed,” she said. “I was told, ‘Look, just talk to your kid when she gets home and then maybe give me a call tomorrow’. “And then all three girls being forced to sit in the same room with him and apologise for a comment of ‘he has a crush on her’, justifying the kid’s actions and making the girls all think that they’re horrible people because they made an innocent comment.” Education Department deputy director-general for schools Steve Watson said there was “never any excuse” for bringing a weapon to school. “I want to reassure parents that while this is a rare occurrence in schools, it is always taken very seriously,” he said. “This type of behaviour is met with immediate consequences, in line with the minister for education’s 10-point action plan, which includes suspension from school. “The Department of Education is assisting the school to support all those impacted by this incident for as long as it is required. “Student safety and wellbeing remains the top priority.” It comes after The Sunday Times revealed last week how official figures showed there had been 184 incidents of students bringing dangerous prohibited weapons — such as gel blasters and flick knives — into WA public schools in the past four years. They included 52 cases involving flick knives or switchblades. Of those, five were reported since the start of 2025. Another 25 incidents involved butterfly knives, which can be easily opened and closed with one hand, and there were 10 reports of knuckle dusters. Electric shock weapons — or tasers — were reportedly brought to schools on 34 occasions. Students were reported for 14 incidents involving gel blasters, six over airsoft guns that fire projectiles known as BB pellets and two for spud guns.