THE public is warned to stay alert after two guns were stolen from a school, in a brazen daylight burglary.
Police reported that unknown people or persons broke into the house of Mlumati Primary School’s headteacher located near Matsamo Border, and stole two firearms from a secure gun cabinet on Wednesday between noon and 6pm.
The stolen firearms include a 9mm pistol and a pump action shotgun.
A large number of bullets or ammunition, about 150, formed part of the loot.
All the stolen items were valued at close to E30 000.
The school’s Headteacher Bill Mohale (51) said he was away at the time of the incident.
He said the firearms had been registered and were stored correctly inside his bedroom.
“I think this was a targeted attack. The culprits ransacked the house, but it appears like they were looking for the guns. They might have had information and possibly aware there were no occupants in the house at that time,” explained Mohale.
The school administrator said lessons were ongoing in the classrooms when the brazen thieves invaded his house, which is located about 150 metres away from the classrooms.
“It may have been difficult for the teachers and the pupils to see what was happening because the classrooms, are separated by a fence from the teachers quarters,” he said.
Mohale recalled that on the day in question he was away in Mbabane, on an official trip.
“I only realised that my house had been broken into when I returned at around 6pm. A tablet, which has some school records stored in it, was also stolen by the thieves,” he said.
The house burglary was confirmed by Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati yesterday.
“The incident was reported at the Pigg’s Peak Police Station,” she said.
An investigation into the alleged burglary is underway, and police will leave no stone unturned in their bid to locate the culprits.
The incident has left the nearby community shaken, especially given that the guns were now in the wrong hands.
“We don’t know the motives of the culprits or criminals. Who knows, the next thing they will be knocking on our doors, armed with the guns demanding valuables,” lamented a resident.
