tWO suspects who shot a teacher inside a school on Wednesday are former pupils of the school.
They were among a group of seven suspects who went to the Buhlebethu Primary School in Inanda, north of Durban, to rob teachers of their belongings.
The five others were also known in the area.
KZN police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbele said four suspects, aged between 19 and 21, were bust in KwaMashu later on Wednesday and six cellphones stolen during the robbery were recovered.
They faced charges of attempted murder and robbery.
“They’ll appear in Ntuzuma Magistrates Court soon,” said Mbele.
Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu visited the school yesterday. He said the seven suspects entered the premises pretending to be parents.
“They were accompanied by a security guard from the gate to the principal’s office,” he said.
Afterwards they pretended to be walking out of the school, but they went to the staff room and started robbing teachers at gunpoint. The principal saw the robbery on camera and pressed the panic button.
“As the thugs were leaving the room, a teacher came in and they shot at him before fleeing,” said Mshengu.
He said the cameras showed the faces of two of the thugs who were former pupils. He said the teacher was in a stable condition in hospital.
- Meanwhile, the SGB of Nonhlevu High School in Groutville, northern KZN, locked the school on Tuesday. They were angry after the education department allegedly decided not to remove three teachers, whom they said were unruly. In a meeting last month, it was allegedly agreed the teachers wouldn’t return to school.
