Teen sets off firecracker on school bus

A 17-YEAR-OLD student reportedly fired a firecracker yesterday morning in the back of a school bus on the way to Lefkara high school, police said.

Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said the incident happened at around 7am on the Skarino-Lefkara route . The cracker went off with a bang and smoke spread everywhere on the bus but luckily no one was hurt, Katsounotos said.

Police suspect it is the second time the same student was involved in a firecracker incident – the first taking place on March 24 again on a school bus.

The youth will be called to make a statement to police in the presence of his parents,  Katsounotos said.

“Using firecrackers entails many dangers, some visible, others invisible but real, sneaky and unpredictable,” Katsounotos added.

Arrests of 14 people in possession of crackers and the confiscation of 9,249 crackers have taken place since police began an anti-cracker campaign on March 15. Firecracker-related incidents always spiral in the run up to Easter.

Katsounotos made special reference to the recent arrest of a father-and-son pair, 44 and 16, who had in total 1,680 crackers.

Most of the confiscated crackers come from Turkey and arrive from the north. Police are intensifying their search in kiosks where crackers are distributed.

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