The gun used by a 16-year-old during a school shooting in Thohoyandou.
Photo: Limpopo police
LIMPOPO – Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo says the incident took place on Friday, 23 February.
The boy shot his 18-year-old fellow pupil during a heated argument in the bathroom at the Denga Tshivhase High School, situated in Phiphidi village, Thohoyandou.
Mojapelo says the boy and his 37-year-old father were both arrested and will face charges of attempted murder as well as negligence in keeping a firearm respectively.
“An additional charge of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition has been added after it came to light that the father did not have a licence for the said firearm,” he added.
The firearm has been confiscated and further police investigations are already underway to determine its origin and whether it had not at any stage been used to commit other offenses.
“The police are making an appeal to parents and guardians to contribute tangibly towards School Safety Programs by making sure that searching their children’s school bags before they depart to their respective schools, becomes a daily routine.”
The duo will appear in Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 26 February.
Raeesa Sempe is a Caxton Award-winning Digital Editor with nine years’ experience in the industry. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and started her journey as a community journalist for the Polokwane Review in 2015. She then became the online journalist for the Review in 2016 where she excelled in solidifying the Review’s digital footprint through Facebook lives, content creation and marketing campaigns. Raeesa then moved on to become the News Editor of the Bonus Review in 2019 and scooped up the Editorial Employee of the Year award in the same year. She is the current Digital Editor of the Polokwane Review-Observer, a position she takes pride in. Raeesa is married with one child and enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music and baking – when she has the time. “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon." – Tom Stoppard
