By Grâçia Ada Obi
A 14-year-old schoolgirl was found guilty of attempted murder on Monday February 3, 2025 just as the Police released CCTV footage of the moment she attacked two teachers and a fellow pupil.
The schoolgirl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of attempted murder at Swansea Crown Court after attacking three people at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman – also known as Amman Valley School – in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire in April last year.
The footage, which was shown to the jury during the week-long trial, showed her attacking Assistant Head Teacher Fiona Elias while fellow teacher Liz Hopkin attempted to restrain her.
After stabbing both teachers, the girl moved on to attack another pupil before she was restrained by staff.
An edited version of the video has been released by Dyfed-Powys Police, showing the girl scuffling with the teachers in the moments before and after the attack, as well as the events leading up to the incident.
The video shown in court gave a detailed breakdown of the pupil’s movements throughout the day.
Early in the day, she could be seen sitting behind a curtain in the lower school hall, where she appeared to stab the knife she would later use in the attack into the floor.
During the morning break, she returned to the hall to join her friends before Mrs Elias ordered her to leave, with the teacher telling her she did not have permission to be there.
The girl went into the corridor to continue talking to Mrs Elias, following her around before returning to the hall and showing her friends the knife.
The pupils had told the police the girl “always says stuff we don’t believe,” and they did not think she would do anything.
She went outside after Mrs Elias, and for around two minutes could be seen talking to the teachers with her hands in her pockets.
The teenager then pulled out the knife with the jury hearing that she had shouted “I’m going to f**** kill you” as she began her attack.
Her attack on Mrs Elias started at about 11.17am, with Mrs Hopkin attempting to restrain her before getting stabbed in the leg.
While Mrs Elias got away, the other teacher lost her grip on the girl, who approached her face-on, stabbing her once in the neck and then in the back.
Mrs Hopkins managed to get away, temporarily leaving the girl on her own.
Staff members Steven Hagget and Darrel Campbell arrived and attempted to calm her down, unaware she had attacked the teachers.
She walked towards another group of pupils before shouting at a girl and running towards her, hitting her with the knife.
Mr Campbell then restrained the girl putting her in a headlock.
