Police charge teenager with stabbing classmate at Catholic high school in England

CNA Staff, Feb 5, 2025 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

A teenager has been arrested and charged with murder after police say he stabbed a fellow student to death at a Catholic high school in England on Monday. 

The alleged attacker, whom police have not named because of his age, reportedly stabbed 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose to death Feb. 3 at All Saints Catholic High School in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. The school has about 1,300 pupils, aged between 11 and 18, the Guardian reported. 

The local Diocese of Hallam, which encompasses all of Sheffield, released a statement Feb. 4 paying tribute to “our much-loved student, Harvey Willgoose.”

Bishop Ralph Heskett of Hallam said he will be asking all priests of the diocese to offer Mass for Willgoose. In addition, the bishop said, St. Marie’s Cathedral is open for those wanting a place for private prayer.

A Mass at St. Joseph’s Parish in Handsworth at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, will be celebrated for Willgoose’s intention, he continued. Willgoose was a former pupil at the elementary school there. 

“Our prayers, and those of every parish and school, are with Harvey, his parents, family, and friends for a young life lost and all those affected by this tragedy,” the bishop said. 

“My thoughts are also with the students, staff, and community of All Saints Catholic High School at this time. In God’s peace, and in God’s presence, we must come together as a community of faith to comfort each other.”

Steve Davies, the CEO of the trust that runs the school, expressed his “heartfelt condolences.”

“Harvey was an invaluable part of our school community. An immensely popular young man with his fellow students and teachers alike, he had a smile that would light up the room. Harvey was young. He was precious. He was loved,” Davies said. 

“A tragic and shocking incident such as this shakes us to our core and is the opposite of the ethos of what All Saints stands for — a loving, caring school community.”

“We are assisting the police in their ongoing investigation and echo their call to refrain from engaging in speculation and misinformation whilst they establish the facts behind this tragic incident,” he concluded. 

Members of the community continue to contribute to a makeshift shrine honoring Willgoose with flowers, balloons, and tributes at a spot outside the gates of the school. 

Prior to the Feb. 3 incident, the school went into lockdown Jan. 29 after staff and students were informed of “threats of violence” between a “small number of students,” the Yorkshire Post reported. Local police have not announced if the two incidents are linked.