Violence in Gauteng schools
2008-08-19 20:29
Pretoria - As the country reels from a shocking sword attack at a Krugersdorp high school on Monday, violence has since erupted at other schools in Gauteng.
While a 16-year-old schoolboy died and three others were injured in Monday's sword attack, one teenager has been wounded in another three outbreaks of school violence which have since come to light.
Two people were arrested for these attacks - just like the matric youth accused of donning a mask and slashing his classmates with a sword in Monday's attack. One remains on the run.
"Learning institutions are for learning and we cannot allow violence in schools," said police spokesperson Director Phuti Setati.
Banned from school
Gauteng education MEC Angie Motshekga spent Tuesday consoling Nic Diederichs Technical High School pupils and staff, and the parents of slain grade nine pupil, Jacques Pretorius.
His alleged killer is expected to appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court on Wednesday and he has been banned from the school.
The murder marked the start of a series of tragedies, one of which played out in Heidelberg, where a 16-year-old schoolboy was stabbed with a knife in a fight with a fellow pupil at the Hoër Volkskool on Tuesday.
The attacker fled afterwards. His young victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, said Captain Thivhulawi Tshilate.
'What if he was on target?'
Meanwhile, in Eldorado Park extension three, south of Johannesburg, another youth lashed out with a gun.
The 17-year-old schoolboy opened fire on fellow pupils playing after school on Monday, but wounded no one, said Captain Philemon Khorombi.
"No one was injured during the shooting, he missed them all. What could have happened if he was on target?" he asked.
The principal later told the police that pupils had complained of being intimidated by the youth. They claimed he had made threats to shoot them.
The gunman told them he had unlocked a safe to obtain the firearm, which belonged to his father.
In a third case, a 15-year-old was arrested with a gun in Pretoria on Tuesday before being able to use it, said Inspector Wanda Olivier.
'Parents must play active role'
Two principals had warned the police of a child with a gun travelling between their two schools in the area, said Olivier.
"In the light of yesterday [the Krugersdorp murder] all of us are really shocked," she said.
"For a principal to act in such a way and report it immediately before the gun could have entered the school is very good.
"We don't know what the plan for that gun was."
Condemning the spate of school violence, Setati said those involved would be dealt with accordingly.
"We are working with the department of education and running programmes to ensure that learners are safe.
"We also want to say that parents also have to play an active role to make sure that the kids are not bringing this stuff [weapons] to schools," he said.
- SAPA