The attack on Anne Maguire came without warning, in the middle of an otherwise ordinary Monday morning at Corpus Christi Catholic College.
Less than a week after the start of term, she was taking a Year 11 Spanish lesson in an upstairs classroom with 30 children when a kitchen knife was suddenly produced, allegedly by a 15-year-old boy.
According to one report, “the teacher was stabbed in the back”, suggesting she had no chance to defend herself.
What is not in dispute is that Mrs Maguire, 61, was stabbed several times, with at least one of the stab wounds to her neck. The attack was swift, savage and fatal.
The first the rest of the school knew of the attack was when screams rang out through the building at around 11.45am.
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Jacob Hill, 16, was in a science lesson and heard the commotion on the floor above him. “I just heard everyone screaming and running about and then we got told to stay there and told that a teacher had been attacked by one of the students,” he said.
Katie Gallagher, 15, said she was in a nearby room when Mrs Maguire was stabbed.
She said: “I heard her scream. I was in a meeting at the time but I heard it.”
Other teachers ran to Mrs Maguire’s classroom and tackled a suspect with a knife, disarming him and holding him while others tried their best to help Mrs Maguire and dialled 999.
Pupils described the whole of the top floor, where the attack happened, as being put into “lockdown”.
When paramedics arrived on the scene they immediately called police, who got to the school shortly before midday to arrest the suspect and take him into custody, relieving the teachers who had been keeping hold of him.
Police wait outside Corpus Christi Catholic College (Rex)
Chief Supt Paul Money said: “A 15-year-old male pupil from the school was detained at the scene by other members of teaching staff immediately after the incident occurred.
“The alarm was raised by students in the school, some of whom witnessed the offence.”
He said a knife had been recovered and added: “There were a number of stab wounds to the lady in question.”
Mrs Maguire was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. She was the first British teacher to be killed in a classroom attack.
Pupils who were in the lesson and saw the murder are now key witnesses whose statements were yesterday being taken by detectives.
As other students learned who had been stabbed, West Yorkshire Police confirmed that the teacher had died in hospital.
The news was greeted with disbelief, tears and anger at Corpus Christi, which remained open and “continued to operate as normal”, according to police.
As news of the attack spread through the school, pupils expressed disbelief that a woman they regarded as the school’s “figurehead” after 40 years of service could have been attacked.
Katie Gallagher said that everyone in her class burst into tears when they were told Mrs Maguire was dead.
Aine Arnold, 17, said: “I can’t believe it. I was on my way home from college and it was all over Facebook.
“I hadn’t even got out of college and my mum and dad were going to tell me when I got home because they knew I’d be in such a state.
“It’s horrible, just horrible. She was such a lovely lady and I don’t understand why anyone would want to do anything to harm her or her family.
“When I found out it wasn’t like I felt a teacher had died it was like a relative.”
At the school gates, a steady stream of mourners brought flowers and personal messages telling of the gratitude they owed to Mrs Maguire.
Nichola Davies, 34, broke down in tears after driving 40 miles from her home in Goole to pay her respects. Mrs Davies, who left the school in 1996, said: “She was such an incredible lady. It’s just so heartbreaking.”
Hundreds of pupils, former students and parents filled the pews of Corpus Christi church next to the school on Monday night. There was no formal service but candles were lit in Mrs Maguire’s memory.
