KEVIN VAN DER LIST
A 24-year-old LLB law student of the University of Pretoria shot herself in the stomach and is currently in a critical but stable condition in the Netcare Montana hospital. According to witnesses the incident occurred just after 18:00 on the UP Hatfield Campus. Police have confirmed that the incident was accidental, and this statement was echoed by a UP spokesperson. The exact details are still under investigation. A married couple who were on campus for their daughter’s awards evening at the time, told Perdeby they heard a gunshot at 18:00 near the Client Services Centre. “[We] noticed [the] student about 10 metres away from us, lying back on the grass – a black jacket across her lap. There was no screaming or hysteria but the girl was speaking on the phone asking for help. Soon thereafter her father and family ran past us and he quickly applied a cloth to her stomach,” they said in a statement. Paramedics arrived on the scene at 18:20 and stabilised the woman. The weapon used is believed to belong to the father of the victim. Why it was in her possession remains unclear. The woman’s identity has not been released. Early reports suggested that she was in her graduation robes following her graduation ceremony when the incident occurred. The Law Faculty graduation took place at 15:00 yesterday afternoon, on LC de Villiers Sport Grounds.
