At a school Free State, police officers and teachers were held hostage by learners after their schoolmate allegedly committed suicide. It is alleged that the deceased was being bullied by a teacher.
The incident took place on Thursday at Tlotlisong Secondary School in the Maqheleng neighbourhood of Ficksburg, where students from nearby schools had gathered.
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“Police officers were called to the scene but the pupils turned to violence. They held two police officers and teachers hostage inside the school,” police spokesperson Warrant Officer Peter Mabizela told SurgeZirc SA.
“It is reported that the child left a suicide note to say what caused the death and then the learners at the school picketed and it became violent.”
Mabizela stated that the students overturned a police vehicle, prompting the dispatch of three additional police vehicles to the scene, which the students pelted with stones.
“The station commander sent more units to the scene and they were able to disperse the pupils,” he said.
Five minors have been arrested for public violence and will appear in court shortly after consulting with social workers.
“The procedures for children are different but they will eventually appear in court,” Mabizela said, suggesting the children may have been released into their parents’ care.
