A 13-year-old teenager was arrested on Friday morning after he allegedly shot his principal at a school in Primrose, Johannesburg.
Gauteng police spokesperson, Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said the 51-year-old principal has since been taken to a local hospital.
“Circumstances that led to the shooting are unknown at this stage, as police have launched an investigation to also establish the origin of the firearm which is seized by the police,” said Nevhuhulwi.
“The teenager is expected to appear before Germiston Magistrate’s Court soon, on a charge of attempted murder.”
Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona expressed devastation after the incident and said the department’s pyscho-social units had been dispatched to the school.
In 2022, IOL reported that a 32-year-old Limpopo man was arrested for negligent handling of a firearm after he allegedly gave his 13-year-old son a licensed firearm “for protection”.
At the time, spokesperson for the SA Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the incident happened at Rabali Village in the Mphephu policing area, and the father appeared before the Mphephu Magistrate’s Court.
The father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his son, was released on R1,000 bail.
“The two suspects (father and 13-year-old son son) were arrested after members of the community noticed that the boy was armed with a firearm while he was playing with his friends and they immediately called the police,” Mojapelo said at the time.
“Upon arrival at the scene, police found the boy armed with a 9mm pistol with an empty magazine and he was arrested.”
The teenager informed police that the firearm belonged to his father.
IOL