Learners at the Kagiso secondary school in Kagiso, West Rand will receive counselling on Monday following an incident where one of their teachers allegedly shot a hostage taker dead. Its alleged that the knife-wielding man had held the staff at the school hostage. It is not known yet why the man was at the school on Friday afternoon.  

LEARNERS TRAUMATISED 

Learners are said to be struggling to cope in class after the incident. According to a source known to ZiMoja,  her neighbour's daughter who is doing Grade 8 at the school cried throughout the weekend saying she wished she had not witnessed the incident,' She said she could still hear the sound of gunshots. Apparently, the teacher fired six shots and the learners started running in different directions out of panic,' the source says.

SUSPECT HELD STAFF HOSTAGE

Kagiso police spokesperson Captain Solomon Sibiya said the suspect was aggressive and violent. "He allegedly found the teachers and the principal in a meeting at the staff room and interrupted them. When they wanted to leave, he blocked the door and refused them exit. One of the teacher's tried to diffuse the situation and when the intruder was distracted. "The teacher managed to run to his car and grab a gun, he  fired a warning  shot in the air but instead of scaring the intruder he became more aggressive and stabbed the teacher on his left arm. The police said the teacher fired 6 shots and four of them  hit the deceased on the upper body, one on the right thigh and one on the right leg. "The victim was taken to Leratong Hospital for medical treatment and is in stable condition. The deceased was certified dead on the scene. The firearm used by the victim was a revolver Ruger,' Sibiya added.

DEPARTMENT CONCERNED 

Department of Education spokesman Steve Mabona said they are worried about the safety of learners and teachers. He said the incident could have been avoided if the security at the gate were alert and followed the intruder to the staff room. "It is alleged that an unknown man gained access into the school through the main gate when it was remotely opened for a car to drive in. The patroller responsible for manning the gate tried to stop him but the intruder did not cooperate," said Mabona. He added that after the incident the learners were taken to the school to be addressed but that didn't materialise, so they had to release them to go home. "It's quite unfortunate what happened at the school. Learners are traumatised by what they saw, and these are the things that we don't really need to see in our school environment,' said Mabona.