Wolverhampton machete attack

The Wolverhampton machete attack occurred at St Luke's Church of England infants' school, on 8 July 1996. While the children were having an outdoor teddy bear picnic, the attacker, 32-year-old Horrett Irving Campbell, leapt over a fence and began attacking the children and adults with a machete. Three children and four adults were injured in the attack.

Wolverhampton machete attack
LocationWolverhampton, England
Date8 July 1996[1]
3:15 pm (BST)
TargetPupils and staff at St Luke's Church of England infants' school
WeaponsMachete
Deaths0
Injured7[2]
PerpetratorHorrett Irving Campbell

The attack

Shortly after 15:00 on 8 July 1996, parents and teachers at St Luke's School were organising a teddy bear picnic to celebrate the end of the school term. A man described as being in his mid-30s with a slight build[3] whom parents had seen hanging around the bushes[1] prior to the attack, jumped over a fence surrounding the children's play area and pulled out a large machete.[3] As parents attempted to distract and stop the attacker, he calmly[3] began slashing the machete indiscriminately at the adults and children. Three children and four adults, most notably Lisa Potts, were injured in the attack. Potts was a 21-year-old teacher at the school who suffered cuts to her head, back, arms, and one of her arms was almost severed in the attack. A parent chased the man out of the area towards a housing area known as Villiers Flats. Police surrounded the area, and approximately two hours later took away a man who turned out to be someone other than the assailant.[3] The following day, after hours of searching the area, police arrested 32-year-old Horrett Irving Campbell in connection with the attack.[4]

Perpetrator

Campbell was a 32-year-old man who lived across from St Luke' School in the nearby flats. Neighbours reported that he was unemployed and spent much of his time fixing his Volvo. He had previously been arrested for appearing in public with a machete strapped to his leg, but was not considered to be dangerous.[5] At his trial, psychiatrist James Collins testified that Campbell was a schizophrenic who believed that the children were talking about him, and that the parents of the children had given information to the police about him. Campbell was also under the delusion that performing this attack would help rid him of a ghost which had haunted him for years. On 7 March 1997, judge Justice Sedley sent Campbell to a mental hospital for an indefinite period.[6]

Aftermath

Potts underwent several surgeries to repair the damage suffered in the attack, and received an initial award of £49,000 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel, which was increased on 10 November 2001 to £68,000.[1] An award from the panel to the children was eventually increased from £750 to £20,000 each. Potts received the George Medal from Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for her actions in defending the children.

References
  1. "BBC On This Day July 8, 1996". British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 July 1996. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  2. "Neighborhood Man Arrested in School Machete Attack". Associated Press. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. Victor, Peter (9 July 1996). "Madman at a teddy bears' picnic". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  4. Fowler, Rebecca (10 July 1996). "Man arrested over school machete attack". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  5. "Horrett Campbell Entered the Playground". Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  6. "Machete man sent to secure mental hospital". The Independent. London. 8 March 1997. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
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