Authorities are exploring the possibility that a double stabbing at a school in North London could have been an act of terrorism.

The incident, which took place at Kingsbury High School in Brent around 12:40 PM, left two boys, aged 12 and 13, in critical condition and needing immediate hospital care.

A 13-year-old suspect has been apprehended on charges of attempted murder and is currently in police custody. Law enforcement officials have also recovered the suspected weapon used in the attack.

The Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism division has initiated an investigation into the matter. However, it has yet to be classified officially as a terrorist act.

During a press briefing, Detective Superintendent Luke Williams shared that upon reaching the scene, officers were informed of a 13-year-old boy who had been stabbed.

Subsequently, they learned that another victim, a 12-year-old boy, had also sustained injuries.

The suspected attacker fled but was arrested by officers after an urgent manhunt was launched. It is not yet known whether they are male or female. 

The Daily Mail understands that the stabbings took place on school premises but it remains unclear whether it was in a classroom. 

Two boys, aged 12 and 13, were rushed to hospital and remain in a ‘serious’ condition after the incident unfolded around 12.40pm at Kingsbury High School in Brent

Police are probing whether a double stabbing at a school in north Londonwas a terrorist attack

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams revealed on Tuesday evening that the incident is being investigated by the police’s counterterrorism unit

One of the two victims was rushed to a major trauma centre as a priority, the London Ambulance Service said, with both of the boys’ conditions understood to have, at one stage, been ‘life-threatening’. 

The headteacher of Kingsbury High School, Alex Thomas, described the attack as a ‘deeply traumatic event for the whole school community’.

He wrote in a letter to parents and carers: ‘I am very sorry to inform you that there was a serious incident at school today in which two students were stabbed. Our thoughts and best wishes are with our students and their families at this incredibly difficult time.

‘We would also like to thank the emergency services for their swift response and our staff for the calm and dedicated way they supported students throughout the day. Students in the Lower School were kept in the playground at the request of the police while they began their investigations, they were incredibly patient and respectful of others during this time.’

Photographs from the scene showed a number of emergency vehicles swarmed around the school in the aftermath of the incident.

The school was on lockdown earlier on Tuesday with no one able to enter or leave the grounds.  

One mother of a Year 8 student told the Brent and Kilburn Times: ‘I’ve been panicking, a lot of kids don’t have their phones on them so I couldn’t get through.

‘They had to leave their bags and stuff.

Police were made aware the one boy, 12, had been stabbed when they arrived at the scene before finding that a 13-year-old was hurt a short time later

Photographs from the scene showed a number of emergency vehicles swarmed around the school in the aftermath of the attack.

The school was on lockdown earlier on Tuesday with no one able to enter or leave the grounds.

‘At least I have her now. It’s awful – so awful – what happened, that someone would even bring a knife to a school.

‘My daughter said that a fire alarm went off when it happened.’ 

Kingsbury High School is an academy school serving children aged 11 to 18, with both upper and lower sites.

According to the latest Department for Education information, it has 1,997 pupils.

It traces its origins to Kingsbury County School, which opened in 1925 in a building which had been the office of the former Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It moved premises in 1932.

Alumni include Wham’s George Michael, jazz musician Courtney Pine, Floyd Steadman, the first black captain of the Saracens rugby team, and writer Ekow Eshun.

The London Ambulance Service said they were called at 12.41pm to reports of a stabbing on Bacon Lane.  

They added: ‘We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic, a paramedic from our tactical response unit and a clinical team manager. 

‘We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance.

‘We treated two patients in total. We took one patient to hospital and the other as a priority to a major trauma centre.’