Johannesburg - An East Rand Grade 11 pupil was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the fatal shooting of a fellow pupil he accused of bullying him, police said.
The 18-year-old pupil would soon appear in the Vosloorus Magistrate's Court on charges of murder and possession of unlicensed firearm, said Captain Pinky Tsinyane.
Gauteng education spokesperson Charles Phahlane said the Grade 11 pupil at Phineas Xulu Secondary School, in Vosloorus, Boksburg, allegedly took his mother's firearm to school and shot the other pupil.
He said the youth's mother was a metro police officer. The woman’s official firearm was used in the shooting.
“The Grade 11 learner is alleged to have been bullied repeatedly by a Grade 10 learner and two other boys, who yesterday afternoon (Monday) allegedly took his cap and cellphone,” said Phahlane.
The youth allegedly shot the Grade 10 pupil when he and his friends confronted him in class on Tuesday.
The department had arranged for psycho-social counsellors and representatives of faith-based groups to go to the school.
Education MEC Barbara Creecy and safety MEC Faith Mazibuko would meet to discuss ways of curbing schoolchildren's access to firearms, Phahlane said. - Sapa