Staff Charged After Stabbing Principal at Melbourne School

A 37-year-old staff member at Keysborough Secondary College in Melbourne's southeast has been charged with multiple assault offenses after allegedly stabbing the school's principal, Aaron Sykes, on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 3 p.m. at the college's Acacia campus on Isaac Road in Keysborough, prompting a swift lockdown as students hid under desks shortly before the end of the school day. Victoria Police responded within minutes of the initial call, arresting the suspect at the scene. Both men were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries: Sykes, 43, sustained stab wounds and was discharged the following day to recover at home, while the suspect received treatment for a minor injury and remained under police guard before his release.

Authorities believe the two men knew each other, though the motive remains under investigation. The suspect, from Mulgrave, faces charges including two counts of unlawful assault, intentionally causing injury, recklessly engaging in conduct that placed a person in danger of serious injury, and assault with a weapon. He is scheduled to appear in Dandenong Magistrates Court on Wednesday.