Mass syringe stabbing at Our Lady of the Desert

Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday September 3, 2019 16:48

 

According to the Regional Director of Education (North East) Labani Mokgosi, the Standard 2 pupil found behind his classroom and playfully started pricking his mates with it.

“Most of the pupils who were jabbed with the syringe by the Standard 2 boy are also doing Standard 2. Two of them are age 6.  After the boy stabbed them, the pupils were rushed to Area W clinic for medical attention.  They were attended by medical personnel who administered doses of medication that prevent diseases like HIV(/AIDS) passed from one person to another through bodily fluids.  The pupils are now okay and are attending their classes as usual,” Mokgosi said. 

He said that in the aftermath of the incident, investigations were carried out to determine where the pupil who stabbed others with the syringe could have gotten it. 

“Our investigations showed that the student did not get the syringe from his home but just found it at the back of his classroom. We did so in order to take possible necessary action against the guardians of the culprit if it could have been proven that they were somehow negligent,” Mokgosi said.

Mokgosi went on: “Following the incident, the teacher who was alerted about it also accidentally pricked himself with the syringe after he put it away in one of his pockets.  We are, however, happy to report that he was also attended to by medical personnel and was given medication to prevent any repercussions.  The pupil, who playfully pricked his schoolmates, is also attending school as usual. Contrary to what some people may be saying, he has not been suspended. You should remember that in this situation we were dealing with a minor”. 

After the mass-stabbing incident, Mokgosi noted, parents of the affected children were notified and called to attend an emergency meeting at the school to map the way forward. 

“The parents and pupils were given counselling services.  Our investigations are continuing in order to prevent an incident of this nature from recurring,” Mokgosi said. 

In a similar incident in 2017, panic broke out at Aerodrome Primary after Standard 1 to 3 pupils started pricking each other with needles that were suspected to have been indiscriminately disposed by a diabetic patient at the school’s waste disposal container. 

All the victims of the stabbing incident were taken to a medical facility for medical care.

Later, the pupils were given a clean bill of health after undergoing screening for diseases that could have possibly been transmitted through the used needle(s).