'Warning Shot' Kills Teen Protester in South Africa

Students were protesting final exams
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 14, 2010 11:45 AM CDT
'Warning Shot' Kills Teen Protester in South Africa
South African riot police are seen in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A warning shot fired by South African police ricocheted and killed a 17-year-old female student who was among a group protesting that a recent teachers strike had given them insufficient time to prepare for exams, an investigator said today. Students marching in the Free State region allegedly threw stones at police officers who had confronted them yesterday morning, according to a spokesman for the agency investigating the incident.

An officer fired a warning shot toward the ground with a 9mm pistol, and the bullet ricocheted and then hit Nontsikelelo Anna Nokela in the back. She was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The teachers strike was halted Sept. 6, shortly before a series of final exams. There have been protests this week by students across South Africa who said the missed classroom time left them ill-prepared. (More police brutality stories.)

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