A Grade 2 pupil took a loaded gun to a school in Brakpan, East Rand, on Tuesday. Children in Grade 2 are typically turning 8 years old during the year.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi tweeted a screenshot on Thursday of an email written to a "Chief Director", which stated that the child had come to school with the intention of shooting another pupil with whom he had fought.
It is not clear who wrote the letter, and who the "Chief Director" is.
According to the tweeted letter the father of the child was called to the school, but he had apparently distanced himself from the gun.
The incident comes after a spate of violence in several schools across the East Rand. In one incident a pupil in Benoni lost his life, allegedly as a consequence of continued bullying. In another, a pupil ended up in hospital after a gun went off during an altercation in Lenasia. In Nigel a deputy principal was fatally shot.
Police nor Lesufi were available for comment.
News24