… and ‘huge thanks’ going out to quick-thinking school caretakers
News that PSP police pursued a group of fleeing suspects into the grounds of a Lagos primary school, firing “warning shots into the air”, caused a great amount of local consternation yesterday.
Fortunately, it was raining at the time, and almost all pupils were in classes when the shooting began. Those that weren’t were quickly rounded up by school caretakers, who then managed to ‘lock the building down’.
The most important point was that no children or staff were exposed to the drama, which ended with all four (foreign) suspects being arrested: one with a gunshot wound to his foot.
Huge thanks has since gone out over social media to the quick-thinking caretakers: “These GREAT ladies managed to act quickly and get the rest of the pupils back into their classrooms (with the help of the teachers) and even close the whole school, which still has a few doors”, explains one mother writing over Facebook. “I am not belittling the work of the police or the role of the teachers, but I think these ladies should be publicly recognised because no one is prepared, let alone trained, for a situation like this in a school context.
“My thanks as a human being, as a woman, but above all as a mother”.
The situation began when PSP police in a patrol car caught sight of a group which they suspected of being behind a number of local house break-ins.
A ‘car chase’ began, which developed into a much more physical chase as the men’s car drove into a cul-de-sac, and they all leapt out and started running – eventually climbing over the wall into the Escola Primária nº 1 do Bairro do Operário, close to the old city walls, at which point one of the agents fired the warning shots.
Eye-witnesses have reportedly attested to police ‘aiming at the suspects’ (which would explain the gunshot wound to the foot…) But the official narrative is that ‘warning shots were fired into the air’ – perilously close to a school full of young children.
There is no mention of the gang themselves being armed – although one online source does refer to “an exchange of gunfire”.
Newspaper reports today have interviewed parents who were clearly very concerned by the way events unfolded. “How can I bring my son here on Monday after something like this?” One questioned Correio da Manhã.
According to Lusa, “the case is now under the jurisdiction of PJ Judicial Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office” while a source for the PSP has said that the “circumstances of the occurrence will be investigated in a criminal and disciplinary enquiry”.
One comment that does stand out in the Lagos ‘group’ discussing this incident is from a ‘top contributor’, who says: “Once the shock has passed, I hope people don’t fall back on the “all’s well that ends well” tack. No, all is not well at all. What happened is of extreme gravity, and if we ‘minimise’ a case like this, soon there will be others”.
