A GRADE 10 pupil at Nick Mpshe Technical and Commercial Secondary School in Winterveld, Tshwane has been suspended after a gun was found in his bag inside the school.
He was taken to Dube Police Station for questioning on Thursday, 23 February.
This angered the residents of Jakkalsdans and Selepe in Winterveld, who stormed Nick Mpshe Secondary School on Wednesday, 21 February.
They protested for the unfair suspension of the pupil and demanded that the boy return to school with immediate effect.
It's alleged that the pupil went to the toilet and when he returned, his classmates told him to check his bag because a few pupils had placed a gun in it.
He quickly reported the matter to the teachers and the police, who were conducting a surprise search-and-seizure operation at the school.
He was suspended, along with two other pupils for putting the pistol in his backpack on Friday, 16 February.
According to his mum, the teenager tried to commit suicide twice since his suspension.
ALSO READ: 'We want Zuma to be our president again'
The mother alleged that her son was targeted and treated unfairly because he was a member of the Progressive Student Movement at the school.
"The deputy principal, who called the cops on us, was aggressive when we approached the school for an explanation. She told me my child could commit suicide if he wanted, but the school wouldn't reconsider its decision, even after the district official admitted that there were flaws in the process of suspending my child,” she said.
The angry mother said police wanted to arrest her son five days after the incident.
The president of the Progressive Student Movement, Kabelo Nthekiso, said it was the third time a pupil was found with a firearm at the school.
"The police failed to arrest the pupil for possessing a firearm on the day of the incident. Therefore, we refused to allow them to arrest him. He was traumatised by the incident," he said.
Kabelo said the conduct of the principal must be investigated.
According to Gauteng police spokesman Mavela Masondo, the weapon found at the school was a toy gun.
"Police confiscated the toy gun, and the pupil was not arrested because a case was not opened," he said.
