Some students of the Port Mourant Community High School who allegedly threw an explosive device into the compound of the Belvedere Primary School yesterday were beaten by their third form counterparts which resulted in one of the high school boys having to receive medical treatment.
The incident created some unrest in the area as residents also joined the melee by attacking the Belvedere students due to the severe thrashing of a Port Mourant student.
The third form students were forced to seek refuge in the Belvedere school compound and two female teachers and the gate were the only barriers that prevented the residents from the area, mostly men, from entering the school compound.
In the end the headmaster of the Port Mourant school was forced to visit the primary school and it was only after he promised that a full investigation would be done that the residents were appeased. An education officer and the police were also on the scene and police yesterday said that they are investigating the matter since it is not the first time the explosive, which is known as the ‘thunder king bomb’ and looks like cartridge, has been used in the area. The explosive is said to be extremely dangerous and can inflict serious injury.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene at around 12:45 the standoff between the residents and teachers was still in full swing and angry words were being traded.
According to reports the incident occurred at around 12:15 pm while some students were having lunch in the school yard.
A vendor at the Belvedere Primary School told Stabroek News that the four fourth form students from the community high school arrived at the primary school and purchased something to eat before entering the school compound. They went to the area where the students were eating and shortly after a loud explosion was heard and frightened students were seen running away from the area. Some of the Belvedere students told Stabroek News that the group of Port Mourant students has a known ringleader who was threatening to light another of the explosives when they got into action.
The students said they decided to chase the boys and they ran out onto the road and while three managed to escape after a few initial blows the alleged ringleader was cornered.
A resident in the area said that the Belvedere third formers numbered between ten and fourteen and they attacked the Port Mourant boy. According to him “dem beat him up like dem nah get feeling.” Upon seeing this some men in the area turned on the boys and started to beat them but they escaped by running into the schoolyard.
According to the third formers they were very angry as they know how dangerous the explosive is as it was the same one that was used to destroy toilets at the J.C Chandisingh Secondary School in Port Mourant last week.
A police source confirmed the damage to the toilets at the school. According to the officer three toilets were blown up after five of the devices were thrown by students.
He said following investigations a student admitted to having purchased the explosives and taking them to school. However, he refused to reveal from whom the explosives were bought giving the police several conflicting stories. His parents promised to repair the toilets. After the student’s admission the officer said there were two other incidents that saw the toilets being completely destroyed.
Yesterday’s incident and those at the J.C. Chandisingh school last week were reported to the Ministry of Education.
