Queensland’s police minister has defended police weapon searching powers and called for more officers statewide, after two school stabbings in the first week of the new term.

Police Minister Dan Purdie said the government was working to “break the culture of young people carrying knives”.

“What we’ve done is made Jack’s Law permanent, expanded it to elsewhere, and every police division now has access to these little devices,” he said.

Jack’s Law grants police officers the power to conduct on-the-spot weapons wanding searches in any public space, including state school campuses.

The minister said Queensland had sworn in more than 1800 officers over the past two years, and needed more. But he rejected the suggestion that school staff, such as principals, would be granted similar powers.

“We don’t want to start saying to principals that that’s their job,” Purdie said.

“That’s why we’re giving police tougher laws ... to make sure we’re enforcing community safety and holding young people to account.

“Principals run their schools and their main priority is keeping kids educated in schools, and we don’t want to start allocating that position for the principal.”

Officers patrolled a school campus near Logan for several hours on Tuesday, after a 16-year-old allegedly stabbed his 17-year-old classmate with a “small knife”.

The older boy suffered potentially life-threatening wounds, but his condition had stabilised by Tuesday evening.

Police said the two boys were involved in an altercation before the 17-year-old was injured.

Officers were initially unable to locate the 16-year-old – who had left the school – but later found him in a vehicle on Gowan Road in the neighbouring Brisbane suburb of Stretton, where he was arrested.

He was charged with acting to maim, disfigure or disable and unlawful possession of a category M weapon.

He appeared before Richlands Childrens Court on Wednesday via video link and was granted bail on strict conditions, with the matter adjourned until September 3.

In court, his lawyer claimed he had been a victim of bullying prior to the attack.

The school’s chief executive told 4BC the two students knew one another, and maintained the incident had been quickly contained.

Earlier, the school had emailed parents to tell them students would be dismissed about an hour earlier than usual, after “an incident on campus”.

“This decision … is a precautionary measure to support the wellbeing of our students and staff and to allow the college to appropriately manage the situation,” the school said.

Some parents criticised the school for a “lack of timely communication”, with others claiming they first saw the news through media coverage on Tuesday afternoon.

One parent said they found out about the incident through a phone call from their child.

Late on Tuesday, the school advised parents there was no ongoing risk to other students, and said classes would resume on Wednesday.

The school also urged parents to avoid “sharing or commenting on speculation or misinformation”.

“We are aware that a significant amount of information is circulating on social media, much of which is inaccurate or unverified,” the school said.

The alleged stabbing in Brisbane occurred a day after a 15-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed at a school in Cairns.

The boy was taken to hospital and another boy, also aged 15, faced Cairns Children’s Court on Tuesday charged with one count of intending to cause grievous bodily harm.

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