Education chiefs had to investigate after senior pupils at a north-east school were threatened with violence.
Warnings issued by a teenager attending Peterhead Academy on social media included numerous references to attacking fellow pupils with a knife.
In Facebook exchanges seen by the Press and Journal and raised with school authorities by concerned parties the pupil expressed apparent ill-will toward sixth year pupils.
In one message they threatened to “show them the blade”, while in another they claimed “They go near me, I’ll start impaling”.
Aberdeenshire Council said it had looked into the matter and decided the messages did not represent “a credible threat”.
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North-east Conservative MSP and shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr, however, said the incident would still come as a “shock” to people.
He said it showed more still needs to be done to teach youngsters about the dangers of knives.
Mr Kerr said: “I think parents of children at Peterhead Academy – and indeed schools across the north-east – will be shocked by this.
“It is right this was immediately reported to police, given the recent history of knife crime and the Bailey Gwynne tragedy.
“This may not have been viewed as a credible threat, but the very fact that such violent imagery is being used is worrying.
“There clearly is much more work to be done to educate pupils about the dangers of carrying and using knives.”
During the conversations on Facebook, one of the messages read: “They go near me I’ll start impaling.”
The recipient asks “Who is they?” and receives the answer “Any six year who wish as much as come near me”.
A further reply begs the messenger not to get involved, saying: “Leave my sixth year friends alone.”
A final response, however, reads: “No, they want to show me affection then I’ll show them the blade.”
A council spokeswoman the issue had been dealt with by the head teacher who subsequently contacted the police for help.
She said: “This matter has been addressed by the school’s head teacher who has contacted Police Scotland for advice, as per council policy.
“However, it is not understood to be a serious nor credible threat.
In November 2017, a 14-year-old boy was charged by police after parents spotted him with a knife outside the school gates.
Earlier that same year, a pupil at Peterhead brandished a knife at a fellow pupils following a playground argument.
