Teacher fatally stabbed in England; student, 15, arrested

LONDON - Police have arrested a 15-year-old student after a teacher was stabbed to death at a school in northern England.

Ann Maguire, aged 61, was fatally injured at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds on Monday morning. A student was detained by staff until police arrived.

Prime Minister David Cameron called the attack "profoundly shocking."

Sky News reported that Maguire, who had taught at the school for over 40 years, was due to retire in September. It is the first time a teacher has been fatally stabbed in a British classroom.

According to the paper, officers were called to the scene before noon Monday in response to a report that a staff member at the school had been stabbed. A knife was recovered from the scene. Around 30 students witnessed the attack.

Fatal attacks on teachers are extremely rare in Britain. Many still remember the death of head teacher Philip Lawrence, stabbed outside a London school in 1995 after he went to help a student who was being attacked by a gang.

But teaching unions have warned that assaults are becoming more common. According to the United Kingdom's Department for Education statistics, 40 pupils were expelled every day for attacks on staff in the 2010-2011 academic year.