Parent-teacher body seeks answers for boy's death

PORT-OF-SPAIN (CMC):

The National Parent Teachers' Association (NPTA) has called for a 'thorough investigation' into the death of a 14-year-old schoolboy who was stabbed by a fellow student during a fight allegedly over a schoolgirl.

"This is a police matter and we are calling for a thorough investigation. The suspect should feel the brunt of the law, because we need to send a message to our young people. There should be zero tolerance to violence and murder in schools," said NPTA president Zeena Ramatali.

Police have detained a 16-year-old fifth-form schoolboy, who was due to write his Caribbean Examinations Council history exam on Monday after 14-year-old Renaldo Dixon later succumbed to four stab wounds he received in the presence of his friends at the Waterloo Secondary School in central Trinidad.

Another pupil, who tried to separate the two students, was cut on the neck and was treated. Media reports said that the fight was over a 13-year-old female who is also a student at the school.

Dixon's mother, Camille Taitt, said her son was stabbed twice in the back, his wrist and abdomen.