School gun video investigated: It’s a toy

UPDATED:

At least one student of the St Joseph Secondary School has been suspended after a video of him and another student brandishing what appeared to be a .9 mm Glock pistol was circulated on WhatsApp yesterday.

According to sources, police from the St Joseph station visited the school after a report was made and questioned one student believed to be the owner of the gun. When it was taken from the boy’s schoolbag it was found to be a toy.

The student has since been suspended and is expected to have counselling from the school’s support staff.

Staff said there were no immediate plans to increase security at the school in light of the incident.

Newsday spoke to president of the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) Raffiena Ali-Boodoosingh, who said while she was concerned over the incidence of school violence, she did not believe increasing security was the solution, as the issue of delinquency was a complex one which required the efforts of all stakeholders.

“This indiscipline in our schools demands a holistic approach and parents must be held accountable for the actions of their children. We also need to hold teachers and principals to a higher standard. This is not a problem we can solve with more security guards.”

Ali-Boodoosingh was also critical of suspension as a punishment for errant students, as she said it accomplishes nothing and causes teenagers to slip back into bad behaviour outside of the watch of parents and teachers.

The 15-second-long video showed two boys laughing as they showed the toy weapon inside a schoolbag.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A 15-second long video, showing students of a St Joseph secondary school brandishing what appears to be a Glock .9 mm pistol, is currently being investigated by officials of the Ministry of Education.

The video which shows two students recording the weapon on their cellphones circulated on WhatsApp earlier today.

Newsday spoke to President of the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) Raffiena Ali-Boodoosingh, who said while she was concerned over recent school violence she did not feel that increasing security at secondary schools was the solution.

She added the issue of school violence was a complex one and required the participation of all stakeholders including parents, teachers and the students themselves.