teenager who stabbed harvey willgoose took an axe to school weeks before murder

Mohammed Umar Khan,15,attacked Harvey,also 15,with a 13cm serrated-edged hunting knife he had taken with him to school (Pictures: PA)

The teenager who stabbed Harvey Willgoose to death during their school lunch break was spoken to by police just weeks before the murder – for having an axe in his bag.

Mohammed Umar Khan,with a 13cm serrated-edged hunting knife he had taken with him to All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield in February.

The city’s crown court heard Khan has a ‘longstanding interest in weapons’ and a ‘history of carrying [them],including on school grounds’.

A police officer visited Khan’s home in December 2024 after his own mum reported him saying she had found an axe in his school bag.

But while the weapon was confiscated,Khan was only given ‘safety advice’ and no further action was taken.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Explaining the decision,Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles said: ‘There wasn’t enough there to be able to arrest him and charge him with possession of a bladed article. It’s not just possession – it’s possession in a public place that is the critical factor.‘There isn’t that evidence to show that he had it out publicly. Obviously,we can ask questions around it,and he denied having any knowledge of it.‘So,in this instance the safest thing to do was to give him that safety advice.’Mohammed Umar Khan,holding the weapon used to kill fellow pupil Harvey Willgoose (Picture: South Yorkshire Police/PA)Harvey’s mum Caroline Willgoose,who has campaigned with her husband Mark for knife arches in schools since her son was killed,said after the sentencing: ‘This shouldn’t have happened.‘There were so many red flags.‘They must have known what he was like when his mum said that he’d took an axe in to school.’Mrs Willgoose told reporters she was pleased Khan had been ‘made an example of’.She said: ‘I feel like a big weight’s been lifted off my shoulders,to be honest.‘We just need to get on with our lives and try and do good things for our Harvey,for those kids.’