Gunmen attack pupils and teachers

SCHOOLS have become the latest target for criminals in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg. On Monday, eight thugs got into the Trinity Secondary School in Giraffe Avenue and held up the pupils at gunpoint.

They demanded money, said Lenasia police spokesman Captain Mbulaheni Hector Netshivhodza.

“The men entered the school at about 7am. At that time school had not started and the pupils were standing outside their classes.

“The robbers approached a group of pupils and demanded cash. They took about R125 and fled.

“No arrests have been made and the police are still investigating,” said Netshivhodza.

Three weeks earlier, on February 5, there was an attempted robbery at Pentarosa Primary School in Marmer Street, said Netshivhodza.

“At about 12pm, a man entered the school under the pretence that he wanted to have his child enrolled at the school, but he pulled out a firearm and held up two teachers.

“Two other men joined him moments later and they attempted to rob the teachers. A teacher walked in on the robbery and disturbed them — she screamed and the robbers fled.

“A woman and a man were waiting for the robbers outside the school in a getaway car, a white VW Polo.

“No arrests have been made and nothing was taken from the teachers,” he said.

The principals referred queries to the Gauteng department of education.

The department’s spokesman, Phumla Sekhonyane, said: “We will send our school safety team to these schools to make an assessment of what additional security measures can be deployed to strengthen safety.

“However, we are concerned about incidents that put our learners and staff at risk. We have in place a school safety strategy, whose critical elements include the linking of schools to police stations for rapid response issues.

“We have also developed an incident-reporting mechanism requiring principals to report these incidents to head office.”