Johannesburg – On Monday afternoon, a Grade 11 pupil came home angry and humiliated. The 18-year-old was bare-chested and barefoot.

His school bag and cellphone were gone. He was in tears as he entered his mother’s home in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.

He had fallen victim to a gang who intimidated his school, Phineas Xulu Secondary School. They’d chased him after the final bell, pelted him with stones until he stopped and then robbed him of everything except his pants.

His mom consoled him as she prepared to report for duty as a constable at Vosloorus police station.

She returned at the end of her night shift and went to bed, only to be awakened a few hours later by her armed colleagues swarming into her house wanting to arrest her son.

A Grade 10 pupil, Nkululeko Ndlovu, 18, had been shot dead.

Her son was the prime suspect – and he had apparently used her service pistol to shoot his tormentor dead.

She protested that her pistol was in its locked safe when she’d got home. The officers demanded to see it. Ejecting the magazine, they showed her that bullets were missing.

On Wednesday, the soft-spoken 36-year-old officer was in shock. Grief creasing her face, she struggled to put into words what she felt.

“I am hurt about what happened to my baby. I am very concerned about his future. He never mentioned bullying to me before.

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za