Johannesburg - An 18-year-old schoolboy from Alexandra in Johannesburg will appear in court on Wednesday for possession of an unlicensed firearm, Gauteng police said.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, said the teenager was arrested following a complaint that he had pointed at another pupil with the firearm. The school then contacted the police who found the firearm in his school bag.
“He claimed that the firearm belonged to his father. Police are yet to investigate in terms of the Firearms Control Act against his father to determine his fitness to possess a firearm,” Dlamini said.
Meanwhile, 12 other suspects who were also arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms during crime prevention operations in Benoni, Cleveland, Dobsonville, Midrand, Etwatwa, Roodepoort and Ennerdale on Tuesday, were also set to appear in court on Wednesday.
Dlamini said that in Benoni, police who were on routine patrol noticed a suspicious vehicle with six occupants. After stopping the vehicle, they searched it and found two revolvers and 18 rounds of ammunition. All six men were arrested and are facing charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
In a separate incident, Dlamini said a pistol was seized in Cleveland after two women were robbed by two suspects near the M2 West Highway.
“Police responded and confronted one of the suspects who had a firearm in his possession, while the other managed to escape.”
African News Agency