By Nondumiso Mbuyazi

A 17-year-old Grade 11 boy and his two friends, aged 15 and 16, were arrested for possession of a firearm after they allegedly tried to attack a security guard at a Phoenix school.

The Westham Secondary school pupils were marked absent on Wednesday, but allegedly entered the property later to confront a security guard.

They were accompanied by other boys, who were not pupils at Westham, said police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane.

Chaos erupted when the boys started assaulting the security guard.

"The pupils saw what was happening at the gate and started screaming, alerting the teachers. Another security guard came to his aid and the group fled."

However, the Westham trio returned to the school in the evening; one of the boys was allegedly in possession of his father's 9mm pistol.

Police were called and they arrested the pupils, who were charged with possession of a firearm and later released into the custody of their parents.

The gun owner appeared in court yesterday on charges of failing to safeguard his firearm. He was granted bail. The case was postponed to April.

This article was originally published on page 2 of Daily News on February 12, 2010