Police in South Africa have arrested two people who shot a teacher inside a school on Wednesday and also identified them as former pupils of the same school.

According to local media, the two were among a group of seven suspects who went to the Buhlebethu Primary School in Inanda, north of Durban, to rob teachers of their belongings.

The five others were also known in the area.

They faced charges of attempted murder and robbery.

Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu visited the school yesterday. He said the seven suspects entered the premises pretending to be parents.

“They were accompanied by a security guard from the gate to the principal’s office,” he said.

Afterwards they pretended to be walking out of the school, but they went to the staff room and started robbing teachers at gunpoint. The principal saw the robbery on camera and pressed the panic button.

“As the thugs were leaving the room, a teacher came in and they shot at him before fleeing,” said Mshengu.

He said the cameras showed the faces of two of the thugs who were former pupils. He said the teacher was in a stable condition in hospital.