The teacher who allegedly stabbed Sykes – 37-year-old Mulgrave man Kim Ramchen – was charged with multiple offences including unlawful assault and intentionally causing injury.
He was due to appear in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Parent Liz Tsareva, who said she barely slept after Tuesday’s alleged stabbing.Credit: Simon Schluter
Parent Liz Tsareva said her husband arrived to pick up their son from school, but the teenager told them he was hiding under a table. She said she barely slept that night.
“Another teacher here with a knife … it’s horrible. Children should be safe in school,” Tsareva said. “I think the school should solve the problem.”
Parent Doris Anati during school drop-off on Wednesday morning.Credit: Simon Schluter
Another parent, Doris Anati, said she was scared after her daughter told her about the lockdown.
“At the moment, I’m calm now knowing it’s not an outsider coming into the school,” Anati said during school drop-off on Wednesday.
The college’s Acacia campus, on Isaac Road at Keysborough, was locked down shortly before the school day ended on Tuesday.
Advanced life support and mobile intensive care paramedics arrived at the college within five minutes, and transported the two men to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
In a letter to families, Acacia Campus principal Natalie Fode said Sykes was “recovering well and in good spirits given the circumstances”.
“The alleged perpetrator is with police and will not at any stage be back on school grounds,” Fode wrote in the letter.
A staff briefing was held on Thursday morning and wellbeing staff are on campus.Credit: Simon Schluter
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“Any form of violence within our school is entirely unacceptable. We are proud of the safe and supportive culture that is the norm at our school.
“I want to assure you that the health and safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority.”
A staff briefing was held on Wednesday morning and wellbeing staff are on hand to support students and teachers.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the incident as “incredibly distressing”.
“It’s horrifying for this to happen in any workplace, but for it to happen in a school is deeply horrifying,” Allan said.
“Police are investigating as to why this happened.
“I know particularly the focus today is on supporting the wellbeing of the teachers, staff and students in this school.”
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