Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1208901
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS LAURA CALLEJA A student at the Archbishop's Seminary School has been sus- pended after posting an Insta- gram photo in which he appears to be holding a sub-machinegun, or airsoft replica, while class- mates suggest violence against their teachers. This newspaper was contact- ed by concerned parents whose children had made them aware of other students' behaviour on- line in reactions to the photo of the teenager in school uniform, holding a model ARP-9-SMG, standing in the shooting posi- tion. Parents took particular offence to the comments section under- neath the photo where a fellow student appeared to be encour- aging the boy to bring the airsoft gun to school. "Now bring it to school and let's smash the place up," they wrote, which was met with a re- ply from the boy who posted the photo, singling out two specific teachers. "Two AR-15s and we f*** up Massimiliana [Demar- tino] and later [Mr] Inguanez," in a reference to two teach- ers whom they should shoot. Another student commented "headshot". Contacted by MaltaToday, the headmaster of the Archbishop's Seminary School Fr Mark Ellul said that it was not in the school's remit to monitor the social me- dia activity of students. He high- lighted that the sheer number alone, over 800 students, would make it impossible. Ellul, however, said that the school tried its best to educate students on how best to use so- cial media "maturely." "Since the matter has been brought to our attention, the appropriate action will be tak- en, and the parents of the boys involved will be informed and asked to monitor their children's social media," Ellul said. Ellul stressed that the school took these episodes "very seri- ously" and would seek advice from the relevant authorities be- fore taking further action. Airsoft guns are replica toy weapons used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of very low-power smoothbore airguns designed to shoot non-metallic spherical projectiles often col- loquially referred to as "BBs". Instagram gun pose earns Seminary student suspension Classmates joked about 'f***king up' teachers with machine guns