By Candes Keating
Police have made no arrest yet in connection with the brutal murder of an 11-year-old boy at a primary school in Lotus River on Monday.
Dane Darries was found with multiple stab wounds in the boys' toilet at Stephen Road Primary School.
The police are investigating all possibilities, police spokesperson Bernadine Steyn said on Wednesday.
Dane was found by a fellow pupil in the boys' toilet, shortly after breaktime. He had multiple stab wounds to his chest, stomach and arms.
Earlier reports indicated the Grade 4 pupil was stabbed 14 times, but Steyn could not confirm this. An autopsy would be conducted on Thursday.
Eugene Daniels, director of the South Metropole Education Management and Development Centre under which the school falls, said pupils and staff were still traumatised.
We have done extensive counselling and trauma debriefing with the staff, learners and parents, he said. It's difficult to go back to normal after something so horrific.
Psychologists will be at the school for the next two days.
It has also provided Dane's parents, Victor Solomons and Hannah Darries, with a psychologist.
They are devastated, he said.
Dane, who was described as an active and playful boy by relatives, was his parents' only child.
Daniels said police visited the school on Tuesday and interviewed staff, pupils and members of the community. The police have a few leads and are following up on them.
Security measures at the school have also been stepped up, with additional security guards on duty.
The Western Cape Education Department would review the security situation at the school and determine what further steps they can take to ensure safety of the pupils.
We want all our children to be safe, said Daniels.
Sumayah Gamieldien, who has two children at the school, said both were traumatised and had not been back since Monday. Her daughter, Kamiela, who was in the same class as Dane, refused to go to school on Tuesday because she was too scared. Both would return on Thursday.
Gamieldien said the extra security was visible at the school on Tuesday.
That took a little of my fears away, she added.
Parents were planning to meet next week to discuss what they could do to assist staff, pupils and Dane's parents, said Gamieldien.
The funeral is on Saturday.