By Mail On Sunday Reporter
Last updated at 1:42 AM on 3rd April 2011
An 18-year-old was last night charged with attempted murder after a girl aged 14 was stabbed repeatedly outside her school gates.
Teacher's son Sam Tomlinson had been questioned by police since the attack on Chloe West in Stourbridge, West Midlands, on Friday morning.
Keen horse-rider Chloe was released from hospital last night after having plastic surgery on her face and neck. She had been stabbed nine times.
Earlier yesterday, Ella Hill, also 14, said friends had warned Chloe about allegedly dating an older youth.
Ms Hill who was walking to school with her in Stourbridge, West Midlands, when the attacker struck on Friday morning, said Chloe was in a secret relationship with an 18-year-old.
An 18-year-old man, named locally as Sam Tomlinson (left) is alleged to have stabbed 14-year-old Chloe West (right) outside her West Midlands school
Police cordon: Ridgewood High School, Stourbridge, is sealed off as police investigate the attack
'She first spoke about him in October,' said Ella. 'She just mentioned that someone had started working at the stable where she kept her horse.
'We warned her about getting too close with an older guy. It was quite an age gap.'
Chloe West was allegedly attacked from behind by an 18-year-old man – said to be a former boyfriend and the son of a teacher – who had driven up a quiet tree-lined street at 60mph to confront her.
He was said by pupils to have been angry with her after she apparently failed to respond to text messages.
A 16-year-old pupil 'rugby tackled' the man to the ground and a teacher and a parent subdued him until police arrived at Ridgewood High School in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
Superintendent Stuart Johnson said their 'incredibly brave' intervention may have saved the teenager's life.
Chloe, a keen rider who keeps her own horse nearby, was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital, where she had surgery on wounds to her face, head and neck.
Her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Her alleged attacker was identified locally as Sam Tomlinson, the son of a teacher.
Ms Hill also told of the terrifying moment the knifeman struck. The 14-year-old said she jumped on his back and pulled his hair in an unsuccessful attempt to halt the attack, carried out with what appeared to be a kitchen knife.
Stabbed: Chloe West, 14, was attacked outside her school in Stourbridge on Friday morning. She is pictured here taking a riding lesson
Speaking with her parents' permission, Ella said the assailant stopped his car, jumped out and started yelling: 'Why haven't you been talking to me.'
She added: 'Chloe replied to him, "What are you doing here? Why are you here?" Then he grabbed Chloe in a headlock and started hitting her in the face.
'I jumped on him and started trying to pull him back, but he threw me off and on to the floor and then he got Chloe on the floor and then got on top of her and started to stab her.
'He was stabbing her in the face and the neck. There was blood all over her. I couldn't recognise her face.'
Police said the knifeman had been seen cruising up and down the road shortly before the attack.
Some students said he slashed her across the face as well as stabbing her after the schoolgirl apparently ignored a series of text messages from him.
Others said Chloe had recently rejected him.
Police confirmed the pair knew each other but said they were still trying to establish the exact nature of their relationship. Chloe lives with her 12-year-old brother, Jack, and parents Nigel, 53, a painter and decorator, and Rosemary, a 47-year-old cleaner, in a semi-detached home less than a mile from the school.
Chloe's parents were at her bedside as her half-brother Aaron Nicholls, 24, told the Daily Mail of his shock.
Mr Nicholls, a builder, said: 'I was at work when Mum called and said "Get home".'
He added: 'It's horrendous. Chloe's just a normal, fun-loving girl. I didn't even know she had a boyfriend, but then if she did, perhaps she wouldn't want to tell her older brother that sort of stuff.'
Shocked: Officers have praised staff and pupils who came to Miss West's aid during the alleged assault
Scene of the attack: Miss West was stabbed outside Ridgewood High School in Wollaston, Stourbridge
Mr Johnson said: 'Had it not been for the intervention of the parent, teacher and a pupil, Chloe's injuries may have been far more serious than they already are, and potentially life-threatening.
'They showed tremendous bravery in intervening and detaining the suspect and in my opinion – based on medical evidence – they clearly prevented far more serious injuries to Chloe.' He said the Year 11 student, Ben Hudson, suffered 'scuffle-type' injuries as he fought the attacker. Ben's family refused to comment on the incident.
Pupils were ordered to get to their classrooms and stay there after the 8.40am incident. Later the school, a specialist science college, was closed. A spokesman said pupils would be offered counselling.
Attacked: A school portrait shows 14-year-old Chloe West smiling in her uniform (left) while a map shows the location of the alleged stabbing
Horrific: The school is circled white and Chloe's house is circled in red - police arrested an 18-year-old man at the scene of the incident
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario