WESTERN BUREAU:

Violence yesterday claimed the life of yet another student, following a stabbing incident in close proximity to the Maldon High School in St. James. Dead is 15-year-old Cleon Levine of Gordon Crescent in Granville. He attended Maldon High.

According to eyewitness reports, about 1:00 p.m., Levine, who was reportedly among a group of boys involved in an incident in which another student was stabled earlier in the day, was approached by a group of men, one of whom pulled a knife and stabbed him several times.

Sad and ugly day

"This is a sad and ugly day in the life of the school," said Verlon Vernon, Parent Teachers' Association president, as he bemoaned the incident.

Reports reaching The Gleaner are that about 11:45 a.m., a student from the Garlands area (near Maldon) was stabbed during a fracas with Levine and three other students. It is believed that the subsequent attack on Levine was an act of reprisal for the earlier stabbing. The student hurt in the earlier incident has reportedly been hospitalised.