By Melissa Brown, ABC
A man has been taken to hospital after a stabbing at Keysborough College in Australia's Melbourne. Photo: Google Maps / Screenshot
A staff member is being questioned by police over the stabbing of a school principal in Australia.
Keysborough Secondary College's Acacia campus, in Melbourne, was placed into lockdown about 3pm on Tuesday.
Police arrived to find the college principal Aaron Sykes with non-life-threatening injuries that they described as being consistent with a stabbing.
A man was arrested at the school.
The Victorian Principals Association confirmed the man was a staff member at the school.
Vision from the scene shows the man in handcuffs being led by police to an ambulance.
An ambulance spokesperson has confirmed two people were taken to hospital.
The staff member was later discharged from Dandenong Hospital into police custody.
The Department of Education has confirmed no students were involved in the incident.
"We are grateful to staff at Keysborough Secondary College who acted quickly to contact emergency services during this distressing incident," a department spokesperson said.
Parents at the school were informed soon after the incident in a message seen by the ABC in which they were assured that all students were safe and remained inside the school while the situation was resolved.
One parent, who asked not to be named, told the ABC they only found out about the lockdown when their child was allowed to leave the grounds.
They said that the school was well-prepared for an emergency incident.
"The teachers were telling all of the students that the school has gone into code black and they can't leave, they have to go to the gym or theatre or closest classroom and barricade themselves in until given the all clear.
"It's what they have done the drills for."
The department said wellbeing supports would be offered to staff and students.
Sykes became principal of Keysborough Secondary College last year.
Later on Tuesday evening, the school sent a longer message to try to assure parents.
"We have spoken to Aaron and he is recovering well and in good spirits given the circumstances," the message said.
"The alleged perpetrator is with police and will not at any stage be back on school grounds.
"Any form of violence within our school is entirely unacceptable. We are proud of the safe and supportive culture that is the norm at our school."
The police investigation continues.
It follows a stabbing at a primary school in Berwick, in Melbourne's outer south-east on Thursday, in which an eight-year-old boy suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police later said an 11-year-old boy would not be charged over the incident as he was under the age of criminal responsibility.
- ABC
