A male member of staff was stabbed in the neck and two pupils also injured at Co-op Academy in Blackley
Police respond to a stabbing at the Co-op Academy Manchester(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A school at the centre of a stabbing incident on Tuesday morning has praised staff who intervened to detain a student. Emergency services rushed to Co-op Academy on Plant Hill Road in Blackley earlier today amid reports of the serious incident which saw the school put into lockdown.
Now Co-op Academies Trust, which runs the high school, has issued more details about what happened, revealing the incident occurred at the start of the school day and there had been ‘no reason to conduct a search on any student this morning’.
A spokesperson for the Trust said: “Shortly after the start of the school day, an incident occurred on site involving a pupil with a knife. The school was immediately placed into lockdown, and staff acted bravely to quickly detain a student before emergency services arrived.
Live updates: Manchester school stabbings LIVE as girl arrested and three injured
“Greater Manchester Police arrested the student, who remains in custody. Police have confirmed this was an isolated incident with no wider threat to the public.
“Three people, two pupils and a member of staff sustained injuries. They were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, where they are in a stable condition with injuries not believed to be serious.
“While our policies outline strict screening and search powers in line with Department for Education guidance, weapons can unfortunately be small and easily concealed without prior indicators. We had no reason to conduct a search on any student this morning.”
Emergency services outside the Co-op Academy in Manchester(Image: Facebook)
The spokesperson said the school will be providing full support to students.
They added: “We are incredibly proud of the swift actions of our staff and the mature response of our pupils. School will reopen as normal tomorrow, Wednesday 10th June. Full emotional support will be in place for pupils, and local officers will maintain a reassuring presence in the area.”
The comments from the Trust follows a statement from Greater Manchester Police confirming three people were injured at the school including a 14-year-old schoolgirl, a 14-year-old schoolboy and a 27-year-old male member of staff.
Police outside the Co-op Academy Manchester in Blackley (Image: MEN)
Their injuries, believed to be consistent with knife wounds, were described as ‘non-serious’, with the force saying: “All were taken to hospital however injuries are thankfully not believed to be serious, and all are stable at this time.”
The Manchester Evening News understands the male staff member was stabbed in the neck. The 14-year-old girl suffered knife injuries to her shoulder, while the 14-year-old boy suffered injuries to his ear.
GMP statement
A schoolgirl was arrested on the scene and a police spokesperson said there was not believed to be any wider threat to pupils and staff.
In a new statement, GMP said: “Officers were called to reports of a stabbing at a school on Plant Hill Road, Blackley earlier this morning (Tuesday 9 June 2026).
Police respond to a stabbing at the Co-op Academy Manchester(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“Staff were quick to detain a girl to ensure no further harm came to pupils or staff, and officers arrived shortly afterwards. A 14-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault and remains in custody for questioning at this time. Officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.”
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A large number of police and ambulance vehicles were pictured outside the school this morning. An emergency helicopter was also pictured overhead.
Chief Inspector Jon Shilvock said: “We understand that this incident will have cause concern to pupils, staff and the wider school community.
“The incident was swiftly and quickly dealt with by staff before officers attending to arrest the girl. There is believed to be no wider threat at this time, and we thank everyone for their support as emergency services dealt with this.
“We are not looking anyone further in connection this with this incident. Officers will remain at the school and within the area to provide a visible presence and community reassurance.”
‘This is all so scary’
Parents have been sharing their shock, including Malik Rehman, whose Year 9 son witnessed the incident.
Malik, who has another son in Year 11, described it as a ‘frightening’ morning for the family, saying: “I was at work and my wife got a text from the school.” He said ‘luckily’ his son is OK.
Dad Malik Rehman whose two sons attend Co-op Academy Manchester(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Many became aware of the incident from posts on Facebook and received confirmation from the school shortly before 10.30am that everyone was safe and the incident had ‘been contained’.
One mum, whose son was already on his way home when she received the message, said: “This is all so scary. Parents found nothing out from school, it was all from Facebook. My child should be enjoying the last few days in school and not worrying and being in lockdown.”
Another said she went to collect her daughter from school and only received confirmation of what had happened once she’d got to the site.