“No sah, dem obeah di pickney dem! Watch how dem a faint weh,” were the words of a puzzled student of the Anchovy High School, in Southern St. James, which hastily suspended classes on Friday after several students fainted after coming in contact with a male student.
What has been described as a bizarre incident which left many wondering what kind of forces were at work, began to unfold minutes into the morning devotion when a male student, who was said to be a victim of bullying, managed to bypass the security guard with a stick and, moving as though in a trance, began to wield the stick wildly, hitting several students during the devotional exercise.
Upon entering the school, he was confronted by a prefect who asked him what he was doing with the stick and he responded ‘Move!’ in a commanding tone, and sidestepped him.
“The boy began to wave the stick and hit a number of students. Others began to panic, running all over, almost tramping themselves in the process,”one senior student shared.
Eyewitness reports are that some students ran to the nearby nurse’s station, which was closed, and the boy, with wild-looking eyes rushed to the area, banging the door as though trying to force it open.
A prefect confronted him, took the stick and broke it. It was then that things went awry as two students fainted, followed by what seemed a ripple effect as the scene became more mysterious, with another two students fainting.
“Fear began to wash over the school because everybody began to wonder about the boy and the stick, if the stick had special powers, because close to 20 students fainted after it was broken.”
This prompted speculation that some dark forces at work, but some teachers and students shot that theory down, saying it was a panic attack.
The administration is said to have called the medics and the affected students were rushed by ambulance to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, for assessment and possible treatment.
Meanwhile, it is understood that a meeting of the Board of Governors was hastily called to assess the situation. We have not been able to get a comment on the situation.