BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA — A community is in shock after a 17-year-old student was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries following a midday stabbing in the courtyard of the Islamic College of Brisbane in Karawatha.

The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, triggered an immediate emergency lockdown and a rapid police response in Brisbane's south.

Emergency services were called to the school grounds at approximately 11:45 a.m. following reports of a violent physical confrontation between two students who were known to each other.

Police allege that during the confrontation in the courtyard, a 16-year-old boy stabbed the 17-year-old multiple times with a small knife. Paramedics treated the victim at the scene for severe wounds before rushing him to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he was initially admitted in critical condition but has since been stabilized in the intensive care unit.

Following the incident, the 16-year-old suspect fled the campus on foot before police arrived, prompting an immediate regional search.

Officers located the teenager a short time later inside a vehicle on Gowan Road in Stretton, roughly five kilometers from the school, where he was taken into custody without further incident. Queensland Police have since charged the 16-year-old with one count of committing an act intended to maim, disfigure, or disable, alongside unlawful possession of a Category M weapon, and he is scheduled to appear in the Richlands Children's Court.

The Islamic College of Brisbane instantly enacted emergency procedures, placing the school into lockdown to ensure student and staff safety while emergency personnel arrived.

"Following a serious incident this morning, the college immediately contacted the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Ambulance Service," a school spokesperson stated. "After the situation was contained, students and staff were sent home. The school is working with authorities, and counselling and support services are available for all school community members".

The incident marks the second stabbing at a Queensland high school within 24 hours. On Monday, a 15-year-old student was stabbed in the abdomen during an altercation at Trinity Bay State High School in Cairns, resulting in another teenage boy being arrested and charged.

The back-to-back incidents have renewed urgent community discussions regarding youth violence and security measures on Australian school campuses.