The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FEAR swept through R M Bailey High School yesterday after a 16-year-old student was struck by lightning and killed on the school’s grounds, prompting distressed parents to rush to the Robinson Road campus to collect their children.

The tragedy unfolded shortly after 9am as severe weather moved through New Providence, leaving students and teachers shaken and triggering an outpouring of concern on social media.

The student, a Grade 11 pupil, was taken to hospital by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) after being found unresponsive with apparent burn injuries.

Police said he was pronounced dead at about 9.30am.

According to the initial police report, a security officer told detectives that she had searched the male student and watched him walk away.

Shortly afterwards, the student was reportedly struck by lightning and became motionless. The security officer then summoned the school’s resource officer, who attempted to render assistance and observed that the student had suffered burn injuries and was unresponsive.

EMS personnel subsequently arrived and transported the student to hospital.

Detectives later visited the school and interviewed the security officer as part of the investigation.

Police said they remain in contact with the school’s principal and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which is assisting with the investigation.

As news of the student’s death spread, parents began making their way to the school, with some saying they were frightened for the safety of their own children.

One parent, Joyce Brown, said she learned about the incident while shopping for her son’s school uniform.

Ms Brown said she and her husband were at Janae's Fashion when a woman told them that a child at R M Bailey had been struck by lightning.

“I said, ‘What?’ I couldn’t function anymore,” she said.

Ms Brown said the news immediately made her think about her own son.

“I am sad because it could have been my son,” she said. “And when they said it was a male, I everything I was doing, I just stopped. And I’m still anxious right now because it’s scary. It’s very scary, you know because like I said, it could have been my son. It could have been anybody.”

Ms Brown said she had not received a call from the school asking her to collect her son, adding that she understood the seriousness of the situation but believed parents should have been contacted.

Her concerns were echoed across social media, where parents and members of the public questioned how the incident was communicated and expressed alarm over the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

Education Director Dominique McCartney, however, said officials first concentrated on helping students and staff cope with the trauma before releasing them.

She said the student’s homeroom teacher was particularly distraught and that counsellors were brought in to provide immediate support.

“Our children, and our team members are distraught,” Ms McCartney said.

She said students were not simply sent home immediately because officials wanted them to receive counselling before leaving the campus.

“We did not want to send our children home without saying something to them. We wanted them to leave here with some form of comfort, and so that’s what we did first,” she said.

Ms McCartney said parents then came quickly to collect their children, while staff were also allowed to leave.

She said C H Reeves, described as a sister school, was also allowed to dismiss students early because of the close relationship between the two school communities.

Other schools, she said, would be handled on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances.

Education Minister Chester Cooper visited the school and described the death as heartbreaking.

“We are all saddened and all in grief, heartbreaking, along with the team here and our family at the R M Bailey School,” Mr Cooper said.

He said he had spoken with the student’s aunt and guardian, who is also a teacher, and offered condolences on behalf of the ministry, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and the government.

Mr Cooper said grief counselling was immediately arranged for students and teachers and would continue throughout the week for as long as necessary.

Ms McCartney said further counselling sessions were planned for today, with pastors, counsellors and other partners expected to assist.

A session will be held under the school’s pavilion, while another will be held at C H Reeves today. Individual counselling will also be available to students and staff who require additional support.

A memorial service is also being planned to allow the school community to honour the student and remember his life.

Prime Minister Davis, Opposition Leader Michael Pintard and other government officials also expressed condolences to the student’s family and school community.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness also urged members of the public to take precautions during thunderstorms, particularly as The Bahamas continues to experience changing and, at times, extreme weather conditions during hurricane season.

The ministry advised residents to seek appropriate shelter during thunderstorms and stay away from windows, doors and bodies of water.

It also warned people to avoid walking or driving through floodwaters and to exercise caution around coastal and marine areas when conditions become hazardous.