At about 7:00 a.m. (SAST), Harmse arrived at school in a white t-shirt and jeans, and wearing a brown mask and with black paint on his face.
At about 7:20 a.m.,[1] during an assembly for a congregation, Harmse took out his 60-cm samurai sword and slashed 16-year-old pupil Jacques Pretorius' neck, killing him immediately.
Harmse's attack was concluded when he sat down on a brick wall and stuck the sword in the ground, which was grabbed by his younger brother, Corné,[7] who was standing nearby.
[9] The case was transferred to the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg for trial in front of Judge Gerhardus Hattingh.
When police executed a search in Harmse's room, they found "disturbing elements of Satanism" that included ouija boards and "spell books."
Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor later issued a response to Harmse's actions:[13] Obviously, I'm disturbed by the fact that people were hurt and someone died.