13-year-old Australian schoolboy charged with murder

SYDNEY - A 13-year-old Australian schoolboy was charged with murder Monday for stabbing a 12-year-old fellow pupil to death in a playground fight at a Catholic school in Brisbane.

Police found the suspect near the school after the early morning incident. He needed hospital treatment for a cut to his neck.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with all affected by this terrible tragedy, particularly the parents of the deceased boy,” St Patrick’s College headmaster Michael Carroll said.

He described how he telephoned Elliot Fletcher’s parents as their son was being taken to hospital in the company of a teacher. The boy died soon after arrival.

St Patrick’s is the second Brisbane Catholic boys’ school to experience a stabbing in 10 days. At nearby St Joseph’s College, a pupil was stabbed in the leg, leading to a court appearance by a pupil from another school.