Cape Town authorities have identified a suspect in connection with the murder of Spes Bona High School pupil Glenrico Martin.
|||Cape Town - A suspect has been identified in connection with the murder of Spes Bona High School pupil Glenrico Martin and an arrest is imminent, says Community Safety MEC Dan Plato.
It is understood that police were questioning a man late on Thursday.
Plato and Education MEC Donald Grant visited the school on Thursday to talk to principal Abu Solomons.
More than half the pupils were reported absent on Thursday. Grant called on pupils to return, saying that their safety was assured.
Security and access control at the school had been stepped up, as had police visibility on routes used by pupils.
Martin, 19, who was in Grade 12, died in hospital after being shot in the back of the head at point-blank range as pupils were filing in for morning classes on Wednesday.
Martin’s family has declined to comment, asking for privacy.
Meanwhile, the shooting has highlighted a trend towards gangsterism and crime that has spiralled out of control in the area, say residents, school principals and politicians.
Howard MacKrill, principal of Athlone High School, said: “The kids’ role models are now gangsters. If you don’t carry a knife at school you are simply not considered cool.”
The pervasiveness of teenage gangsterism in the area was a recent phenomenon, he said.
Gangs used children as young as 12 to run drugs and do other “dirty work” because minors were unlikely to face the full force of the law if caught.
MacKrill said his school’s perimeter was regularly breached by suspected drug dealers and gangsters, and, in the absence of trained security guards, staff regularly had to chase intruders away.
Connie September, the MP assigned to Athlone, said meetings with local police long predated Wednesday’s murder.
“The police station has a high turnover of staff at the top. This means that there is no consistency in crime prevention strategies. Each time there is a shuffle in the upper ranks, the officers doing the legwork have to start from scratch.”
September said she wanted more visible policing.
Cape Argus