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Narissa Fraser
As people across the country continue to express shock and outrage at primary school children being forced to hide under their desks, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds has alleged that the gunmen are 200 meters from the school and their students are “never in danger. of any physical danger.”
However, the head of the NTA, former police commissioner Gary Griffiths, sharply criticized Hinds’ remarks, saying assault rifles can fire 35 bullets in seconds and kill anyone within 400 metres.
On Monday, gunmen tried to cross from Argyle Street in Gonzales to Richardson Lane in Laventille, leading to a ten-minute shootout between rival gangs. No one was injured or killed.
A video of teachers telling students at Rose Hill RC Primary School to take cover during a shooting has gone viral on social media. School will open on Wednesday.
In a Facebook post, Hinds said the video was “absolutely misleading,” a point he reiterated in a statement to the House of Representatives on Friday.
He said some people thought the gunmen were on school grounds.
“They weren’t! In fact, the actual shooting took place about 200 meters away.”
Hinds said he learned of the video on Wednesday.
“The school administration made it clear that the children were never in any physical danger from the incident.
“It was shock and fear that gripped them all.”
He said that such incidents are common among children who have been trained by the school authorities to come down whenever they hear gunshots.
“Depending on where they live, very unfortunately, they may have experienced this at home as well.”
He recalled discussions with residents during a recent visit to the school and community.
“I called on young people who are used as blind and misguided gophers by gang leaders to think about their future and the future of their children in their families and communities.”
Griffith said Hinds’ statements showed his “irresponsibility and ignorance about guns.”
Griffiths, who said that the children were fit to lie on the ground under hostile fire, said Hinds was “absolutely out of his depth” in his role to secure the TT, while his mentors were “careless, if not clueless, in the field”. of security.”
He said Hinds’ remarks set a dangerous pattern of misinformation by a minister.
Former Defense Force Captain Griffith said, “To clarify for the public, the effective range of the 5.56 cartridge in an automatic weapon is over 400 meters.
“This means that if an innocent bystander was standing 400 meters from the point of the shot and it missed the intended target, such a round could easily kill that innocent citizen, including a child, on impact, so that teacher would need to properly lay them on the ground, reducing them from a target and victim from such a stray round. .”
Hinds’ remarks were seen as “reckless and wrong” and potentially put other citizens at risk.
“In addition to being misguided, his comments are imprudent and presumptuous in addressing the clear and present danger of escalating mass warfare involving the use of assault weapons.”
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