Man killed on school compound

Following Thursday's fatal shooting on the compound of the Gregory Park Primary School, principal of the institution Richard Williams said he will be meeting with the school board to discuss having the perimeter fence raised so as to prevent another breach.

"We will definitely meet as a school board and our report to the education ministry will include the safety-and-security situation at our school. Our school has a perimeter wall right around but, at this time, based on what occurred, it would be prudent for us to add wire [and] raise it to minimise persons getting over," he said.

According to the police's Corporate Communications Unit, an unidentified man was fatally shot during a confrontation with the police about 8:15 a.m. One Taurus 9mm pistol with a magazine containing 9mm rounds of ammunition was seized. The matter was reported to the Inspectorate and Professional Standards and Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations was notified.

Williams said that classes were in the middle of devotions when the explosions were heard.

"We treated the situation as if it was an evacuation. So, once we heard the gunshots, we quickly got into safety mode and everybody got down in their classrooms and closed the doors, and we stayed there until everything subsided. I then checked around to see that the teachers and the children were okay and then we gathered them in one place," he said.

Williams said that some of the children were severely traumatised. Following the shooting, anxious parents and guardians stood outside the gate waiting to collect their children.

"For some children, it was the first time some of them would be hearing gunshots and, unfortunately, it happened on the school compound, and that, as expected, was quite alarming. We spoke to the children about what happened and how they felt and what they were experiencing. We tried to keep them as long as we could, in order to ensure that they were not traumatised going home," he said.