Rocket-propelled grenade kills school pupil in Jos

Jos— A seven-year-old boy was, yesterday, killed when an unknown gunman fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a private high school in Bukuru area of the Plateau State capital, creating pandemonium in the city.

Four people, a widow and her three children, were also killed by unknown gunmen at Sabon Gida Kanap in the same area at abut 2 a.m. yesterday. It was unclear if it was an armed robbery attack or another of the series of killings in the state.

An unknown man was said to have alighted from an Opel Vectra car at about 9.30a.m. and fired the grenade towards the Nure Islamic Private High School, almost opposite the Jos South Local Government Secretariat, but missed his target, shattering the skull of the boy, believed to be a passer-by instantly.

The loud sound of the rocket fuelled rumours that a bomb had gone off at the local government secretariat, forcing residents to dive for cover.

The  explosion was said to have heightened hostilities along ethno-religious lines as residents of the area trooped out poised for a showdown. Some of the residents came out with guns and started shooting sporadically into the air.

However, security sources said it was members of the Special Task Force (STF) who were drafted to the area who fired warning shots to disperse the surging crowd.

The prompt intervention of security agencies saved the situation from degenerating as calm returned after some hours.

Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed the incident and the death of the lad, adding that normalcy had been restored.

Also confirming the incident, Media Officer of the STF, Captain Salisu Mustapha, said the firing of shots into the air “was to make people go back to their houses because they turned out en mass and we felt it could turn into something else, so we tried to disperse them. The gun shots were mostly teargas and now the high way is safe for people to pass.”

The widow was said to have been killed with her children when the gunmen invaded their residence. Mustapha confirmed receiving report of the attack on the residence which he described as an armed robbery incident but said he could not confirm the deaths.