A 13-year-old schoolboy arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing his school principal in South Africa may be tried as an adult, law enforcement officials have announced.
The boy, whose name was not released, was charged with attempted murder.
His alleged victim, a 51-year-old man, is currently recovering in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
The shooting shocked many in South Africa, where there is growing concern about violence in schools.
A student allegedly used his father’s gun in Friday’s shooting at a primary school in Germiston, east of the capital Johannesburg.
The father has also been arrested on suspicion of firearms negligence and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
During a visit to the school on Monday, Gauteng Education Minister Matome Chiloane claimed that the boy had drawn up a “hit list” of three teachers who were “causing problems at school”.
“When we interviewed his friends, they said this had been planned for quite some time.
They had a WhatsApp group where they kept in touch and talked about this horrible event.
He claimed that the student had brought bullets into the school before.
Neither the boy nor his father have commented on the allegations.
Under South Africa’s Children’s Justice Act, children aged 12 or 13 are considered to have no ‘criminal capacity’ unless the State can prove otherwise.
In this shooting case, the judge, at the request of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), received a report on the boy’s ability to judge right from wrong, as well as the boy’s cognitive, moral, emotional, psychological and ordered an evaluation of his/her abilities.
A judge will then decide whether he can be tried as an adult.
This was done to find out how to properly handle the incident.
Priti Ndlovu, a senior social worker at the charity National Children and Violence Trust, spoke about the incident and said she was concerned about the prevalence of gun violence in the country and its impact on children. he said.
“As humans, we go through a lot and arguments often break out in the home, which can lead to tantrums in children. Children cannot get up and carry a gun.
“As parents, as educators, where are we? Why? ‘What if we don’t monitor our children?’ We are losing a generation,” she said.
Mr Chiloane said that regardless of the outcome of the trial, the alleged perpetrator would have to “undergo rigorous rehabilitation” before being allowed back into the education system.
School safety is a major concern in Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province and economic centre.
The shooting comes weeks after a student was stabbed and another injured at a secondary school in south Johannesburg.
Mr Chiloan vowed to strengthen security at schools in the province following the incident.