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A parent who barged into a classroom and threatened to ‘slit’ a 12-year-old girl’s throat in a fiery outburst claims that she was at her wits’ end after school bullies allegedly told her daughter to hang herself.
The mother, who’s 20 weeks pregnant, apologised for her actions while explaining why she confronted her daughter’s classmate in a foul-mothed tirade at St Paul’s College in Gillies Plains, north-east Adelaide, on Monday afternoon.
Footage of disturbing incident has since made headlines, forcing the school principal to address the saga in a letter to concerned parents on Wednesday night.
The mother told Seven News that she and her husband had previously pleaded with the school to intervene in her daughter’s alleged bullying, which she claimed fell on deaf ears.
‘I don’t want my daughter to be another statistic. I don’t want to have to bury my child,’ she said.
‘She was crying, she was devastated that this child told her to go and hang herself.’
The mum believed that she’d taken all possible steps to stop the alleged bullying prior to the outburst.
‘I did everything in my power as a parent, and so did my husband, to make sure our daughter was safe,’ she said.
A mother (pictured left speaking to Seven News) has apologised after she threatened to slit the throat of her daughter’s classmate on Monday
Shocked students watched on as the mum threatened a 12-year-old girl in a classroom at St Paul’s College in Adelaide on Monday
‘I have stated time and time again to the school that we are begging. We begged for help. We begged.’
The mother has admitted that she was in the wrong on Monday and has since apologised.
‘What everybody has seen of me is not who I am as a mother or as a person,’ she said
The incident unfolded less than a week after students returned to school for term one.
The mother was held back by two men – one of whom was reportedly her husband- as shocked Year Eight students watched on.
‘You ever f******* mess with my daughter again, I’ll slit you f******* throat,’ she screamed.
‘You want to f******* go b***h? You want to f****** go? You ever f******* talk to my daughter again.
‘I’m your f****** nightmare b***h… I’ll slit your f****** throat. I’ll be waiting for you.’
The woman was keen to have the last word as she was ushered out of the classroom.
‘And that smart little f*** over there, yeah, you know you’re just jealous because you’re a **** ****,’ she yelled at another student.
The woman continued to make threats towards the girl as she was led away by her husband
A police investigation is underway, prompting St John’s College principal Patrick Harmer to address the incident with concerned parents to assure their children’s safety was the highest priority.
‘The college remains committed to its duty of care for all students and staff,’ he wrote.
‘We provide an environment where the safety and wellbeing of all is our highest priority. We will continue to ensure the best possible support for our students and staff during this time.
‘We are continuing to work closely with the South Australian Police, and as a result, we are unable to provide further details regarding the incident.’
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas publicly weighed in to describe the incident as ‘indefensible’ and ‘mind-boggling’.
‘I don’t know what the circumstances were that led the parent to say those things, but whatever they were, they do not condone or justify those remarks in any circumstance whatsoever,’ he said on Wednesday.
‘How do you possibly rationalise that behaviour, how does anyone in their own mind justify or rationalise that behaviour?’
Parents were shocked to learn about the incident while picking up their kids from the school on Tuesday.
South Australia Police are now investigating the incident at St Paul’s College (pictured)
‘You lead by example. I’m a fiery person but I wouldn’t do that in a classroom in front of kids,’ one mum said.
A dad added: ‘That’s really bad. I’m shocked actually.’
St Paul’s College is a Catholic coeducational school, which has up to 1,000 students from reception through to Year 12.
Fees start from almost $4,000 a year for reception-year two students through to $8,330 for years 11 and 12.
The incident comes weeks after the South Australian government introduced tough new laws targeting abusive parents.
The Education and Children’s Services (Barring Notices and Other Protections) Amendment Bill 2024 give principals, preschool directors and other education leaders the power to ban parents and others who pose a threat to the safety or wellbeing of staff and students from coming within 25m of school grounds.
The maximum ban period has been doubled from three months to six while the maximum penalty for offences has trebled from $2,500 to $7,500.
‘Educators and the wider community expect schools and preschools to be safe and supportive learning environments where there is no place for violence or intimidating and threatening behaviour,’ Premier Malinauskas said.
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