Kimberley - A 17-year-old pupil from Ritchie is currently recuperating in th Kimberley Hospital after allegedly being shot by a policeman.
It is believed the Grade 9 learner, from Rietvale Secondary School, was shot on Tuesday afternoon after the policeman apparently intervened following an earlier altercation involving his child and the victim.
According to reports, Will Smith sustained a gunshot wound to his ankle on the school premises shortly after coming out of his exam venue.
While the South African Police Service referred all inquiries to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), both the provincial Department of Education and Ipid have confirmed that the matter is under investigation.
However, community members are demanding answers and feel that the safety of their children has been compromised.
“There is still quite a bit of confusion regarding what exactly happened, but after speaking to learners at the school, it appears as if the shooting occurred following an incident at the school the day before,” community representative, Vincent Japhta, said on Thursday afternoon.
“My understanding is that there had been a fight between Smith and the police officer’s child on Monday.
“Around noon, Smith was pointed out to the policeman who then confronted him. Although another two groups were involved in a fight, Will was not part of that altercation. It seems as if the officer just pulled out his 9mm pistol and shot him.”
Japhta added that the community was outraged at the officer’s alleged response. “For a parent to come to school and beat up a learner is one thing, but this is something completely different.
“The officer arrived at the Rietvale School in his private vehicle, but in uniform, and shot the child with his service pistol. This is a blatant abuse of his authority and action definitely needs to be taken. He is not even a member of the local SAPS, but is based with another unit in Kimberley.”
Will’s mother, Megan, said that her son was expected to make a full recovery.
“Will has been seen by the doctor who said that the bullet damaged one of the bones in his foot,” she said. “He is currently being examined by the orthopaedic surgeon.
“We still do not know exactly what happened but he said he was just leaving school when he got shot. We are still not sure if he was the intended target or whether it happened accidentally.”
The Northern Cape Department of Education confirmed the incident and said that a thorough investigation was already under way.
“We can confirm that the incident that occurred at Rietvale High School was not gang related,” Education spokesman Geoffrey van der Merwe said on Tuesday.
“A police officer and his wife picked up their child following the examination session. They then got involved in a confrontation with another learner who was shot.
“The safety of all our learners is a high priority for the Department of Education. Police officers are there to uphold law and order and protect our people. We will therefore investigate this matter to determine our next action.”
Ipid spokesman Robbie Raburabu said that investigators were still on the scene and that more information would follow as details of the case emerged.
However, no updates were available at the time of going to press.
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