OK, first of all I wasn’t sure about the title but here goes…

Yesterday was very different for the kids at Dani’s school. Not far away – and just about the time when most kids were arriving for another day’s education – there was as shooting incident. A deadly one as it turned out.

The school got to hear about it quickly. Not sure how but I guess the police must have called every school in the area and told them that it was probably for the best that all children remain indoors during break times. Anyway, that is what happened at Dani’s school.

There may have been an understandable fear that it could be a “school shooter” – the kind of thing we seem to have become accustomed to hearing about in the USA. It turns out that it involved a well known “gangland boss” was shot in the underground car park of his apartment block. It happened at 8.30am right when kids were on their way to the many schools in the immediate area.

From news reports it seems that there were two shooters who escaped the scene in two separate cars – both later found abandoned and burnt out. The police also were quick to point out that the man shot should have been aware something like this would happen. They said: “He’s a major player… he obviously had a big target on his back.” He was a member of a notorious motorcycle (biker) gang involved in “organised crime and the drugs trade”.

Naturally gossip eventually turned to actual news in the school. So it wasn’t long before the kids in Dani’s class knew what had gone on. When I spoke to him after school Dani explained that his school colleagues were affected in different ways. The girls he said were anxious while many of the boys were making jokes about it all. Typical eh? Well, maybe. I like to think some things haven’t changed since I was his age. That is probably how my class would have reacted.

By having to be kept indoors while police sealed off part of the locale I think the kids feel they have been (even in a very small way) part of a big news event. And they have. It was – dare I say it – an exciting and dramatic day for them. As one newspaper headline wrote: “Lunch bag and a body on the school run”. Hey! That may have been a better title for this blog post. Ah whatever.. I am just glad nobody else was hurt.

I thought I should record yesterday’s events so that my son can read about it when he is older. Possibly remind himself. That is if he ever gets around to reading this blog… LOL