The discovery of a pistol and two pellet guns on two teenagers has triggered fear among teachers and pupils of a primary school already battling the scourge of drug abuse.
Two Grade 8 boys at Excelsior Comprehensive School – aged 14 and 17 – were arrested after the guns were allegedly found in their possession.
A teacher had noticed the boys handing each other a “suspicious looking” parcel in the classroom at about 9am yesterday. School principal Mluleki Nikelo said that when approached, the boys allegedly refused to reveal what it was and they were then brought to his office.
“While we were searching him , I found firearms and a magazine with ammunition in the inside pocket of his blazer. We were all shocked and frightened as we did not know why he brought the gun to school and who he was planning to shoot and why,” said Nikelo.
A Norinco pistol with five rounds of ammunition was allegedly found on the younger of the two boys and a pellet gun with the 17-year-old.
The principal immediately called law enforcement, with both the SAPS and King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal police officers racing to the school.
The boys were handcuffed and escorted to a municipal police vehicle parked in the schoolyard. When police searched the 14-year-old, they found another pellet gun with about 100 pellets in a money bag as well as a pocket knife.
Police were further requested by the principal, school governing body (SGB) deputy chairwoman Judith Toni and member Mamela Notyhawe to conduct a random search fearing there might be more weapons on the school grounds.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Dineo Koena said nothing more was found.
“The two schoolboys were taken to Madeira Police Station where they were interviewed. The 14-year-old boy confirmed that the Norinco pistol his grandmother who runs a tavern in Waterfall Park. Both pellets guns were his.”
According to Koena, the 14-year-old stole the gun to threaten those who were bullying him. It is alleged that there was an attempt to stab the young boy last week.
“He said that his intention was not to injure anyone but to scare them and look smart. He added that he had even taken out the magazine and ensured that there was no bullet in the chamber,” said Koena.
Koena said the boy would be charged for illegal possession of a firearm and his grandmother would be charged with negligence. The 17-year-old boy, according to police, was likely to be discharged as he had not committed any crime with the pellet gun.
Nikelo said this was the second incident involving a pupil and a firearm. Last week, a Grade 5 pupil allegedly broke into a house in Maiden Farms and stole a firearm belonging to his friend’s father.
“The 13-year-old boy later exchanged it for a cellphone and a hat with an older boy doing Grade 10. This all happened outside school premises,” said Nikelo.
“It makes us teachers afraid of guns circulating among pupils. They are a danger to themselves and other learners and teachers,” Nikelo added.
Nikelo, Toni and Notyhawe called upon parents to ensure that their firearms were locked in a safe and their children could not access them.
They said that the school, which has 1260 pupils from Grade R to 12, faced drug abuse and made a plea to police and social workers to intervene. According to Nikelo, tik is the preferred drug.
Education department provincial spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said they were disturbed by the news.
“We hope that police will act and ensure that the school is not used as a centre for criminal elements, but for education,” said Mtima.
The school principal and the SGB said that the implicated pupils would face disciplinary charges. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
Gun-toting pupils held
Two Grade 8 boys at Excelsior Comprehensive School – aged 14 and 17 – were arrested after the guns were allegedly found in their possession.
A teacher had noticed the boys handing each other a “suspicious looking” parcel in the classroom at about 9am yesterday. School principal Mluleki Nikelo said that when approached, the boys allegedly refused to reveal what it was and they were then brought to his office.
“While we were searching him , I found firearms and a magazine with ammunition in the inside pocket of his blazer. We were all shocked and frightened as we did not know why he brought the gun to school and who he was planning to shoot and why,” said Nikelo.
A Norinco pistol with five rounds of ammunition was allegedly found on the younger of the two boys and a pellet gun with the 17-year-old.
The principal immediately called law enforcement, with both the SAPS and King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal police officers racing to the school.
The boys were handcuffed and escorted to a municipal police vehicle parked in the schoolyard. When police searched the 14-year-old, they found another pellet gun with about 100 pellets in a money bag as well as a pocket knife.
Police were further requested by the principal, school governing body (SGB) deputy chairwoman Judith Toni and member Mamela Notyhawe to conduct a random search fearing there might be more weapons on the school grounds.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Dineo Koena said nothing more was found.
“The two schoolboys were taken to Madeira Police Station where they were interviewed. The 14-year-old boy confirmed that the Norinco pistol his grandmother who runs a tavern in Waterfall Park. Both pellets guns were his.”
According to Koena, the 14-year-old stole the gun to threaten those who were bullying him. It is alleged that there was an attempt to stab the young boy last week.
“He said that his intention was not to injure anyone but to scare them and look smart. He added that he had even taken out the magazine and ensured that there was no bullet in the chamber,” said Koena.
Koena said the boy would be charged for illegal possession of a firearm and his grandmother would be charged with negligence. The 17-year-old boy, according to police, was likely to be discharged as he had not committed any crime with the pellet gun.
Nikelo said this was the second incident involving a pupil and a firearm. Last week, a Grade 5 pupil allegedly broke into a house in Maiden Farms and stole a firearm belonging to his friend’s father.
“The 13-year-old boy later exchanged it for a cellphone and a hat with an older boy doing Grade 10. This all happened outside school premises,” said Nikelo.
“It makes us teachers afraid of guns circulating among pupils. They are a danger to themselves and other learners and teachers,” Nikelo added.
Nikelo, Toni and Notyhawe called upon parents to ensure that their firearms were locked in a safe and their children could not access them.
They said that the school, which has 1260 pupils from Grade R to 12, faced drug abuse and made a plea to police and social workers to intervene. According to Nikelo, tik is the preferred drug.
Education department provincial spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said they were disturbed by the news.
“We hope that police will act and ensure that the school is not used as a centre for criminal elements, but for education,” said Mtima.
The school principal and the SGB said that the implicated pupils would face disciplinary charges. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
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