KEY POINTS:
Five teenagers were in custody late yesterday after allegedly smashing their way into a Sydney high school with baseball bats and machetes, terrifying students and injuring 18, including a teacher who confronted them.
Parents praised the courage of teachers who barricaded their students in classrooms and placed themselves between children and thugs rampaging through Merrylands High, in Sydney's western suburbs.
The motive for what police described as a "brazen attack" remained unclear yesterday, although Detective Inspector Jim Stewart said that revenge was a possibility.
He told Fairfax radio said that they had been given information that the attackers had been looking for someone at the school. The alleged attackers - two 14-year-olds, two 15-year-olds and one aged 16 - are not believed to be students at the school.
Two are from Merrylands and the others from the nearby suburbs of Auburn, Carramar and Seven Hills.
Although violence between students, bullying and attacks on teachers are relatively common in NSW schools, an all-out assault by armed outsiders is rare, but education officials are now considering whether security needs to be tightened.
The attack began as students and teachers started morning assembly. As the armed group arrived, teachers rushed students into classrooms under emergency lockdown arrangements, barricaded doors and called police.
The alleged thugs ran around the school, smashing classroom windows and showering terrified students with broken glass.
A 48-year-old male teacher who tried to stop the rampage was clubbed on the head and required hospital treatment.
One female student was taken to hospital with facial wounds, and Ambulance Service officers assessed 17 others, most suffering lacerations or bruising.
As the alarm went out, police reinforced local units with others from Parramatta, Rosehill and Fairfield.
"Officers attended the scene within minutes, and the fast response by both police and staff is to be commended," Stewart said.
"It beggars belief [the alleged offenders] would attempt this kind of activity against innocent students."
The alleged attackers were arrested at the school without incident.
But the raid terrified staff, students and parents, dozens of whom raced to the school and waited outside for news, some in tears.
One mother told Macquarie Radio said that the armed youths had attacked during morning assembly.
"They just walked right in," she said.
As soon as students were locked into their classrooms, teachers made roll calls to ensure all were inside and safe. Then windows began being smashed.
Teachers ordered students under their desks, and stood guard at the doors, barricading them.
"This is really way above the call of duty, which is really good," the mother said. "They showed the parents that they put their lives on the line for the kids."
The NSW Education Department said it would review security with the police. Regional director Tom Murie told Macquarie Radio that the attack had started without warning and that the principal, staff and students had acted in an outstanding manner.
