Seven teenagers aged between 16 and 18 are in police custody following the brutal stabbing murder of of 16-year-old Micah Klaasen.
Klaasen, a promising learner and soccer star from Lawson Brown High School, was stabbed to death at the weekend.
The group is expected to appear before the Nerina Magistrates Court for juveniles.
According to the police, the attack unfolded late on Saturday night in Fairview, a suburb that is in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said Klaasen who had been participating in a soccer tournament, was attacked by a group of six to 10 assailants, leaving him fatally wounded.
Emergency services rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
Suspects hand themselves over to cops
“Police from the Walmer station were alerted around 11pm, launching an immediate investigation into the senseless act. On Monday, the seven suspects had voluntarily handed themselves over to authorities, a development that will make the job of the police to investigate much easier,” she said.
Van Rensburg confirmed in a media briefing on Tuesday, that the group was in police custody facing charges of murder.
“We received information that the deceased was allegedly attacked by a group of six to 10 unknown people. The seven teenagers, now charged with murder. At this stage, the motive for the attack remains unknown, but we are treating this as a priority case to ensure justice for the victim and his family.”
The incident comes after in September, six learners from Humansdorp Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape were arrested for stabbing another learner.
The DA, meanwhile, has called for the Eastern Cape department of community safety and the provincial education department to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine how such a heinous act of violence could take place in a school setting.
Horatio Hendricks, a member of the provincial legislature and a former mayor of Kouga, emphasised the necessity of holding those accountable who failed to ensure the safety of learners.
