A man frustrated by his inability to have his daughter enrolled at Potchefstroom Girls’ High School took four staff members hostage on Wednesday, North West police said.
The man, who had been turned away from the school last week because it was full, took four administrative personnel hostage just after 9am and demanded his daughter’s enrolment, police spokesperson Superintendent Louis Jacobs said.
Jacobs said the man was frustrated, as he had been told that he would have to wait until this week to find out if space could be found for his daughter at the school.
The headmaster offered herself as a hostage and managed to secure her staff’s release.
Police and Department of Education officials talked to the man for more than 40 minutes before he surrendered and was arrested.
A 7.65mm pistol and two two-litre bottles filled with petrol were confiscated.
The police have appealed to parents to be patient when registering their children for the new school year. — Sapa