A grade two teacher was shot dead by a balaclava-clad gunman in front of her terrified young pupils at Mount Frere on Monday.
Captain Zamukulungisa Jozana said the 30-year-old was teaching at Niyona Junior Secondary School at 11am when the man entered the classroom and shot her three times.
”He uttered no words, except shooting her.”
She was hit in the head and twice in the neck and died instantly, Jozana said.
The school is in the Mandileni Administrative Area. The man ran away after the shooting and could not be found.
He has not been identified.
The motive for the killing is still not known and a case of murder has been opened.
South African Democratic Teachers’ Union local branch secretary Mziwamadoda Gabela said the woman was a grade two teacher, which meant her pupils were roughly eight years old.
”She was inside the class actively teaching — it happened straight inside the classroom.”
The incident was shocking for the pupils, he said.
”They were crying … a lot of them urinated …they were in shock and afraid.
”There was a pool of blood in the classroom just next to the chalkboard where the teacher was lying. You can imagine it yourself,” said Gabela.
The gunman had arrived at the school and asked where the teacher’s classroom was.
”After the shooting, staff stood in twos and threes, unable to interpret what was happening,” Gabela said.
In a statement, the African National Congress Youth League condemned the killing, saying there had been a rise of such incidents on school premises.
”Urgent action and drastic steps must be taken to restore schools as safe places for conducive learning, and protect both learners and educators.” — Sapa