Grade 8 student stabbed to dea

Grade 8 student stabbed to death during playground fight at Cape Town school

Gang violence rears its ugly head again.

Grade 8 student stabbed to dea

A grade 8 pupil has been stabbed to death by a fellow learner at a high school in Kraaifontein, Cape Town on Tuesday. The stabbing took place at Scottsdene High School in what is suspected to be an incident involving two rival gangs.

The 16-year-old victim died shortly after being taken to hospital.

The Western Cape Education Department are aware of the issue and are working with the school to investigate further.

Scottsdene High School has reported that a grade 8 learner died after being stabbed during an altercation at the school with another learner.

“The school believes at this stage that the incident is gang related.”

“The incident happened as learners were returning to class after a morning break. The alleged perpetrator is in Grade 10. Both boys are aged 15.”

“The alleged assailant accompanied a teacher to the police station. Most learners were not aware of the incident because they were writing exams. Counselling and additional support will be provided as required.”

Gang violence has long marred many schools in the province. Schools on the cape flats are often closed for days on end as gang wars flare up. Parents sometimes have no other choice but to keep their children at home, just getting to school can mean getting caught up in a shootout.

Education vs Not Being Shot: Western Cape MEC pleads for gang units to protect local schools

Earlier this month, Western Cape Minister of Education Debbie Schafer called on Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to bring back specialised gang units. Schafer says that these schools simply can not function without heavy police presence on a constant basis. Lavender Hill schools have reported that there is only ONE police van patrolling the area, when the van leaves, the shooting restarts.

While Police are definitely needed, not much can be done when pupils are bringing knives to school. It is a worrying sign when young teenagers are already so invested in gangsterism and violence.