Ferncourt student killed on compound - Parents angry with administration

Published: Thursday | October 22, 2009


Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer


Superintendent Gary Griffiths, head of the St Ann police, addresses parents at the Ferncourt High School in Claremont after the stabbing death of a student there. - Photo by Carl Gilchrist

A student of Ferncourt High School in Claremont was stabbed to death on the compound yesterday.

According to reports, the student was stabbed by a youngster from another school who was pretending to be from Ferncourt.

Dead is 16-year-old grade-11 student Garon Jones of Steer Town, St Ann.

Jones was stabbed to death by a student of Marcus Garvey Technical, which is situated in St Ann's Bay.

The St Ann police say they are seeking the student from Marcus Garvey, along with his cousin who attends Ferncourt, as both have been implicated.

A Ferncourt student told The Gleaner that she witnessed Jones and the Marcus Garvey student in an altercation Wednesday morning in St Ann's Bay, as Jones was waiting on transportation to go to school.

The threat

The student allegedly told Jones: "Mi mus ketch yuh, an mi mus kill yuh today!"

According to the supposed eye-witness, the Marcus Garvey student later borrowed the crest of his cousin, who attends Ferncourt, in order to enter the school compound.

The student said Jones was stabbed below his left breast. After he was stabbed he reportedly fell over a ledge and rolled downhill towards the playing field.

The attacker then fled the scene.

Jones was rushed to the St Ann's Bay hospital by teachers at the school but was later pronounced dead.

Classes were suspended but are expected to resume today.

"We don't have anybody in custody but we know the persons who are involved. Initial investigations suggest the student from Marcus Garvey has a relative attending Ferncourt, who was involved in the stabbing as well," Superintendent Gary Griffiths told The Gleaner.

According to Griffiths, the incident is a culmination of an ongoing conflict between students from both schools.

"We learnt from as early as September, the first week of school, that there was conflict to the extent that police have been dispatched in the mornings to go to the various areas of pickup to ensure the conflict does not escalate," Griffiths told reporters at the scene.

Upon hearing the news, anxious parents rushed to the school to collect their children but were prevented from entering the compound, which turned their anxiety into anger.

The ire of the parents was directed at principal of the school, the Reverend Lenworth Sterling, who they accused of mismanagement of the institution. The parents claim the incident was not an isolated one and was a reflection of a breakdown of discipline at the school.

Blasting the principal

Vendors who sell on the street near the school voiced their support for the parents while blasting the principal, whose policies, they alleged, allowed the incident.

One vendor said the incident could have been avoided if buses were prevented from entering the school compound.

The Gleaner was unable to get a comment from the principal, as he shied away from the media. Calls to the school went unanswered.

Meanwhile, a parent of a Ferncourt student who was chopped in the head, allegedly by another student at the school on October 10, complained to The Gleaner that the school administration did nothing to assist the victim and did not even acknowledge the incident, which occurred on the school compound after dismissal.

The student, who is not yet back in school, was at the scene with his head still heavily bandaged.

Andrew Holness, minister of education, will be visiting the school today.

 
 
 
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