Two learners were stabbed by the same man in separate incidents on their way home from school near Sonderwater.
Const. Kelebogile Trom, Ikageng SAPS spokesperson, says an 18-year-old learner and his three friends were walking back from school at about 12:50 last Thursday, when a man came from behind and demanded money. When they told him they didn’t have any, he tried to snatch the phone out of the learner’s pocket. The latter pushed him away and continued walking but the suspect came back and stabbed him on the left shoulder.
In another incident, the following day, a 19-year-old learner and his three friends were walking back from school when a man appeared from the bushes and started roughing him up. The learner told the man to take his hands off him and, during the argument, another unknown man appeared and taunted the assailant, asking how he could allow ‘small boys’ to under-mine him. He handed him a knife and told him to use it on the victim.
The suspect stabbed the learner on his right shoulder and armpit, after which the victim went straight home.
Trom says the cases were reported this week.
She highlighted that learners are writing their examinations this month and are easy targets for criminals because they write at different times and leave school at different times.
She advises them to walk in groups and be vigilant of their surroundings and not to talk to strangers or suspicious people on their way to and from school.
“They should avoid using isolated footpaths and not to carry valuables with them,” she advised.