TEEN GANG TORCH SCHOOL

According to sources, teachers at the Cunupia High School seized a camera phone from the student on Friday afternoon. It is believed that this prompted the attempt to burn down the school in retaliation.

Sources said the student, the son of a police officer, is part of a gang which entered the school’s compound at about 4 pm by cutting through a wire fence at the back.

They ransacked the principal’s office, where the phone was being kept and after retrieving the item, the office was set on fire.

The gang of unruly students then entered the lower floor of the school where they vandalised the staff room and stock room.

Newsday was told that files with important information on students’ behaviour were also stolen.

According to police reports, a security guard on duty at the school observed fire coming from the North side of the compound and alerted the Chaguanas Fire Station and the Cunupia Police.

When fire officers arrived at the scene, the principal’s office was already ablaze but firemen were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the school.

The lower floor suffered smoke and water damage.

Newsday was also informed that fire officers had to call for backup tenders to extinguish the blaze as they encountered low water pressure problems at the school.

The school’s principal, David Ramsundar, was alerted and he visited the school to survey the damage.

A team of officers from the Cunupia Police Station, led by WPC Harper, went to the school and interviewed two security guards who were on the compound at the time of the incident.

Newsday was told that teachers at the suspect’s former school repeatedly complained about his behaviour and his tendency to set fires.

Earlier this month, there was another break-in at the school where acts of vandalism took place and police believe the suspect was also involved in that incident.

Sources said the Ministry of Education was informed of the incident.

Fire prevention investigators returned to the scene yesterday in attempts to ascertain the cause of the fire.

They are expected to return today to continue inquiries.

Police sources told Newsday, they intend to question the teenage suspect, however, attempts to contact him late Saturday and yesterday proved futile.

They assured that an arrest is imminent.

Newsday was told that since Ramsundar took over as principal of the school, acts of indiscipline and deviant behaviour were reduced because of his no-nonsense approach to students who flout the school rules.

In response to questions during a sitting of the Standing Finance Committee on the 2017 budget last week, Education Minister Anthony Garcia defended the decision to reduce expenditure on school security to $117 million. In addition to having little or no effect on violence and indiscipline in schools, he said, there are now fewer incidents of school violence. Minister Garcia also assured that adequate security resources continue to be deployed to highrisk schools.