Two pupils shot outside S.African school

Two primary school students were wounded outside their Johannesburg school Friday in a shoot-out between police and three men who allegedly tried to rob a passing motorist, police said.

The two girls, ages seven and 10, were taken to hospital and are in “serious but stable” condition after being caught in the crossfire of a botched carjacking outside Roseneath Primary School, police spokesman Tshisikhawe Ndou told AFP.

One of the girls was shot in the hand and the other in the shoulder in Johannesburg’s upmarket Parktown neighbourhood, Ndou said.

The shootout took place after three men tried to rob a passing driver but were caught in the act by a group of officers on patrol, he said.

“There were police officers who were passing by. They noticed the incident and they turned around. When they confronted the suspects, the suspects then started shooting at them and they returned fire,” he said.

Police later arrested one suspect who had been dropped off at a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, he said.

Friday was the last day of school before mid-year holidays.