“Student opens fire inside his school” has been trending on Twitter as Saudis share a disturbing video of a pupil firing shots while teachers attempt to wrest the firearm from him.
The incident, which reportedly took place on Monday in a village in the ‘Asir province of the Kingdom, appears to have followed an altercation between students at the school.
In the video, the young man can be seen in CCTV footage firing shots before the gun is forced from his hands. Later images show the pupil following the teacher into his office and grabbing the gun again, before getting up on the table in order to open fire once more.
Local media reported that the perpetrator was arrested following the incident, but that no-one was hurt.
The Directorate of Education in nearby Bisha governorate issued the following statement on Twitter:
حدوث مشاجرةبين طلاب أحدى مدارس تثليث و أحدهم يخرج من المدرسةويطلق النار على منسوبي و مبنى المدرسةوبفضل الله لا يوجد إصابات و قبض على المتسبب pic.twitter.com/8u57HILfzN
— إدارة تعليم بيشة (@bishaedu) December 27, 2016
An altercation occurred between the students of a school in Talthith and one of them went outside and opened fire on members of the school. By the grace of God there were no injuries and the culprit was arrested.
Many responded to the alarming incident on social media, with some blaming poor parenting and education in the country, and others calling for more effective techniques for preventing violence in schools:
#طالب_يطلق_النار_داخل_مدرسته: هذا مؤشر لوجود خلل في التربية، والتعليم ، وفي المجتمع .
— خالد بن سعد ال جلبان (@K_S_Algelban) December 28, 2016
This is an indication of a malfunction in education, parenting, and society.
#طالب_يطلق_النار_داخل_مدرسته. لا بد يكون فيه حساب رادع للي يشهر السلاح على الناس ويهدد ارواح المسلمين. نسأل الله السلامه.
— abdalrhman .alOtaibi (@ZUAlSlo2jufFgTh) December 28, 2016
There must be a deterrent to prevent people wielding weapons and threatening the lives of Muslims. We ask God for safety.
#طالب_يطلق_النار_داخل_مدرسته
— عايض القرني (@AAlgarni2030) December 28, 2016
طالما فيه ضعف رقابه بالمدارس وضعف صلاحيات للاداره والمعلمين بيصير اعظم من كذا لأن مالهم هيبه بين هاالمراهقين!
As long as there is weak supervision of schools and weak powers afforded to management... The teachers ought to be greater than that, because [currently] they do not have prestige among the teenagers.
Not all the responses were so serious, however:
#طالب_يطلق_النار_داخل_مدرسته
— فهدوف (@GenralFHD) December 28, 2016
MBC Action pic.twitter.com/Y4jFKqAwzT
#طالب_يطلق_النار_داخل_مدرسته.
— ريم الحربي (@reem_nh1) December 28, 2016
Call of duty
The video, which has had tens of thousands of views since it was uploaded yesterday, can be seen here.
RA
