10 Oct 2023
Security has been heightened at a further education college following a double stabbing – with a second lockdown enforced this morning.
Two students aged 16 and 17 from Oaklands College in St Albans were injured during the course of the original incident, which took place at about 3.40pm on Monday.
Then earlier today, at around 11.17am, police were called back to the college following reports of a young male with a knife on North Drive. The teenager was detained and a bladed item seized. Nobody was injured, but students were reportedly kept locked-down in their classrooms before police arrived.
The college said: “We have responded to an unrelated incident on our St Albans campus and we have been supporting an individual student in distress.
“The emergency services were called and responded quickly and appropriately. Students were asked to remain in their classes until the situation was resolved as a precautionary measure, which it now has been.”
Meanwhile, a friend of one of the stabbing victims says the incident was triggered by “a verbal altercation”.
He added that his friend was now in hospital after his arm was slashed with a machete.
“The college was really good. Security escorted us off the premises in single file.”
Video footage showing an Oaklands student wielding a long bladed weapon went viral on social media on Monday night.
A guard at the entrance to the college said they had increased security as a result of the incident, with more staff and patrols on the site, but they couldn’t control what happened off the grounds.
The owner of Oaklands Stores, outside which one of the stabbings occurred, said he had never known anything like this in the 20 years he had been trading there.
He described the weapon used as “a massive big knife” and said the students involved had been arguing in his shop before the incident occurred.
He says he isn’t worried by what happened, but blamed an increase in problems at the college on a new focus on sports, which has brought students from further afield than St Albans. “When it’s your time to die it’s your time. I won’t be introducing any more security. I’ve always done what I can to keep safe, including talking to police and providing CCTV.”
A neighbour living in Hatfield Road said: “We’ve had some problems with litter and anti-social behaviour around the bus stop and shop in the past but this is generally a safe place to live. It’s the college teenagers who are the issue. I have teenagers myself and I know not all teenagers are bad but sometimes some of them make stupid decisions. It’s telling that the college immediately said it happened off their premises when something clearly occurred on site as well.”
He saw the police cordon off the area but was surprised they had gone when he took the dog for a walk later.
A fresh statement released by Oaklands College today provided an update on the original stabbing incident.
“All of us at Oaklands College community are extremely concerned about the incident that occurred near our campus yesterday and resulted in two students receiving treatment in hospital. They are recovering and both are thankfully safe and well. They retreated into the safety of our college where they were met by our security and first-aid team, who provided an immediate first-aid response. The individuals were taken into the reception area of the college for treatment and we accompanied them to the hospital with their parents and guardians.
“However, we understand the worry and upset that this has caused among students and their families, and we would like to assure you that we are working closely with the police who are investigating this matter.
“In the meantime, we take the safety and security of our students and our staff extremely seriously and our priority is always to ensure that the college is a safe place for learning. We have been putting counselling support in place for anyone who needs it, and we are also contacting those students who were on the scene of the incident to offer similar support.
“The college remains open and we have increased the security on campus. We are monitoring all traffic in and out of the campus and conducting bag searches as a preventative measure. Staff are regularly patrolling the campus and we are being supported by Hertfordshire Constabulary who are conducting patrols outside of the college where the incident took place and inside the college for further reassurance.”
