Teacher accidentally shoots pupil dead in Swat
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PESHAWAR: A school teacher in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swat region accidentally shot dead a 12-year-old pupil on Thursday while cleaning his pistol in the staff room, police said.
Teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were given permission to carry firearms in the classroom after Taliban militants massacred more than 140 students at a school in the city of Peshawar in December.
Read: Militant siege of Peshawar school ends, 141 killed
Thursday's deadly incident happened on the outskirts of Swat's Mingora area, around 180 kilometres northeast of Peshawar.
“Majid Khan, a teacher at the private Sangota Model School was cleaning his pistol in the staff room when it fired a bullet by accident, hitting a student passing through the corridor,” local police official Fazl Rabi told AFP.
He said the student died on the spot.
Also read: Primary teachers in KP refuse to keep arms in school
Saleem Khan Marwat, the area police chief, confirmed the incident and said the teacher had been arrested.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province allowed teachers to carry guns — and began giving them firearms training — in January, saying it could not provide police guards for every school.
Take a look: Teachers get gun training after Peshawar massacre
The move was part of efforts to beef up school security after the Peshawar massacre, the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history.
Heavily armed militants went from room to room at an army-linked school, eventually gunning down a total of 150 people.
But teachers' associations objected to arming staff, saying it was not their job to fight off militants.
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (30) Closed
Jun 11, 2015 04:10pm
Is this a Joke ..... why he is allowed GUN in School........ was he terrorist......
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Jun 11, 2015 04:13pm
This wqs bound to happen. Better than arming everyone why don't we just implement a full scale weapons ban starting with the least armed areas of the country and move on to heavily armed areas last.
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Jun 11, 2015 04:17pm
this is what happen when you handover guns to teachers. it was an ill conceived decision of Pakistan government.
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Jun 11, 2015 04:22pm
Very sad incidence, we are in war against terrorism it's better to keep the arms for security.
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Jun 11, 2015 04:23pm
cleaning gun in school's staff room! insane teacher!!
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Jun 11, 2015 04:25pm
The problem is he was cleaning it in the school
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Jun 11, 2015 04:30pm
Teachers carrying gun is fine given the circusmtances and corrupt government/politicians in charge but cleaning the gun is criminal at school, it was obviously a loaded gun, teachers fault must be taken to task, do not blame the government for what happened in Peshawar, teachers with weapons can hold off the militants for a little longer till the rescuers arrived.
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Jun 11, 2015 04:33pm
@humble
@Sense
I think you have short memory.. Read the article again, Pakistan government has given these guns to teachers after school shooting incident by TTP.
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Jun 11, 2015 04:50pm
This was going to happen when you arm every one in order to deal with terrorism rather eliminating terrorists and their ideology bearers and their sponsors and sympathizers. Arming teachers in schools was a terrible and pathetic decision of Pakistan's Govt and KPK Govt. It does indicate their low level of intellectual thought processing and lack of perceptual understanding of real problem and it's appropriate solution.
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Jun 11, 2015 04:51pm
RiP to the student and condolences to his Family. Really sad to read this and heart goes out to the killed student. Is this not a price being paid to be born in a place where life is so cheap. None of the below comments seem to care about the dead pupil.
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Jun 11, 2015 05:10pm
Thank God this was not happened in Madarsah
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Jun 11, 2015 05:21pm
Our country is the only in the world who want teachers to carry guns. God know these teachers may be putting guns on students head and getting the homework done. Horrific!
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Jun 11, 2015 05:30pm
@Malatesh Guns given as a last resort. Besides, if Pakistan had good neighbors (and good government), none of that would have happened.
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Jun 11, 2015 05:37pm
Now, the serious repercussions of free gun are coming out...
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Jun 11, 2015 05:42pm
This was always the danger of permitting school staff to carry ammunition in schools for si called security purposes. Now there is the first example of it. Traching staff who haven't been accustomed to handling such guns could at least trigger them off. I posted about this sort of danger before. Children are far more advanced than quite a lot of adults serm to realize - a child could get hands on guns in schools even if put in safekeeping by teaches, eager to try their skills (and some children are extremely skillful), trigger gun off, yet not having enough common sense to realise the consequences of doing so. There could also be the terrorist from outside, entering a school in full knowledge that teacher is equiped with gun, and demand him/her to hand over the gun for a shootout.
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Jun 11, 2015 05:44pm
@xyz Govt of KP in-fact
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Jun 11, 2015 05:58pm
@Malatesh Better YOU read the article again. The government give PERMISSION to carry guns and began giving them firearms TRAINING not guns.
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Jun 11, 2015 06:11pm
Credit goes to KPK government.....
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Jun 11, 2015 06:17pm
@Imran cleaning at home would have killed his son or brother. No weapons in the hand of civilian - govt. and law enforcement agencies must control it themselves.
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Jun 11, 2015 06:31pm
Though it's a tragic incident, we can't criticize a policy on the base of a single incident.
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Jun 11, 2015 06:38pm
The problem in Pakistan is that we have gun ownership culture without proper licensing, training and common sense. Common sense dictates unloading the pistol while it is pointed in a safe direction, usually at a tangent to the floor. At fault is a careless and macho pseudo-culture that refuses to accept the insane contribution to lawlessness of a high level of gun ownership. Pakistan is the only country where wives conveniently die 'polishing' their husbands weapons.
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Jun 11, 2015 07:18pm
Feeling sorry for both ill fated student and teacher. It was a big mistake to clean gun in staff room, though. On the other hand one should never try to make teacher a gun fighter. Teachers need extreme level of peace and calm in their mind to build new generations, instead of thinking how to fight with a a gun.
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Jun 11, 2015 07:19pm
Well I really feel sorry both for the teacher and student . Guys it is really easy to pass any statement while sitting out there. Giving firearams was the time's need because even 5 guard couldn't secure one school building so they had to train the teachers. And now one mishap had happened and everyone has gone crazy ad if they had the better solution to deal the whole security matter and as if the teacher gunned down the child on purpose.
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Jun 11, 2015 07:22pm
"cleaning his pistol in the staff room, police said" Wow! what then will he teach to his students
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Jun 11, 2015 08:50pm
what???
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Jun 11, 2015 08:55pm
I really feel sorry for the entire nation. What is our future when teachers have guns for their security and government cannot control terrorism. These incidents may occur frequently foe one or another reason.
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Jun 11, 2015 09:13pm
Schools are to acquire knowledge, not weapons training. Pakistan government should compensate the students parents for a flawed policy.
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Jun 11, 2015 09:16pm
'Staff Room' is meant for Staff only. No pupils are allowed there.
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Jun 12, 2015 12:05am
That is why I opposed the move to allow Arms in KPK schools.
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Jun 12, 2015 05:21am
Most people accidentally killed were shot by a pistol that "wasn't loaded."
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