Nicola Sturgeon has refused to rule out the introduction of metal detectors at Scotland’s schools after a teenager was stabbed to death at a north-east secondary.
The first minister was speaking during a visit to Aberdeen as pupils returned to lessons at the city’s Cults Academy for the first time since 16-year-old Bailey Gywnne died.
He was fatally injured in an incident in a corridor at the school.
Another youth – also aged 16 – has appeared in private in court charged with his murder.
The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have struck Bailey on the body with a knife.
He also faced charges of being in possession of a “bladed” weapon and an offensive weapon while on the grounds of a school.
He is due to make a second appearance at Aberdeen Sheriff Court later this week.
Ms Sturgeon discussed the tragedy and the local response to it during a meeting at Aberdeen’s town house yesterday with city council leader jenny Laing, chief executive Angela Scott and Chief Superintendent Adrian Watson.
While the first minister did not rule out introducing new measures to protect staff and pupils in schools, she said she did not want them “surrounded by security”.
The SNP leader said: “We have to strike a balance between making sure that out of a tragic incident like this we learn any lessons that need to be learned.
“We’ll certainly do that in the fullness of time but I think it’s also important that we don’t have a knee-jerk reaction to respond in ways that are disproportionate.
“When you’re young is the time of your life and you don’t want to be surrounded by security, you want to be free to learn, to develop, to grow up into adults.
“I think we have to take time, I’m not convinced at this stage that (metal detectors) is something we should rush to do.
“But we equally shouldn’t rule things out. So let’s not rush to conclusions as there is an investigation ongoing into this particular case but I think that we should take time to think about whether there are any measures required to be taken in the fullness of time.”
She added that the level of knife crime had been falling in recent years and praised the handling of the Cults Academy situation by local authorities.
She said: “I think in the face of a deeply distressing and tragic incident the council, the school, the head teacher in particular, and the police have handled it in a way that has been really impressive.
“I think there has been devastation and heartbreak.
“Obviously the impact of this is felt by nobody more than Bailey’s family and his friends and everyone who knew him and loved him. It’s them who need our thoughts and support over , no doubt, a long period to come.
“We have seen, and nothing I say here is intended at all to downplay the dreadful event last week, a significant reduction in knife crime and the handling of offensive weapons with young people over recent years.
“It’s also the case, not withstanding last week, that our schools are generally safe places for young people to be.
“No government can guarantee that incidents like this will never, ever happen in our schools but nevertheless our schools are safe places and partly the reason why what happened last week was so utterly shocking was that these events are rare.”
Councillor Laing, said: “I was pleased to meet the first minister in Aberdeen today and provide an update on the tragic events of last Wednesday and the response from the council and the school.
“This is an incident that clearly had an impact far beyond Cults and Aberdeen, and we welcome the offer of support from the Scottish Government at this time.”