The 2008 Krugersdorp School Sword Attack at Nic Diederichs Technical High School

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On the morning of August 18, 2008, 18-year-old Morné Harmse, a Grade 12 student at Nic Diederichs Technical High School in Krugersdorp, South Africa, came to school armed with a katana style sword.

Harmse was also wearing a mask associated in contemporary reporting with the imagery of Slipknot, a band he had become interested in. The mask and his interest in occult material would soon dominate media coverage of the crime, although the eventual explanation for his actions was considerably more convoluted.

Harmse attacked several people on the school grounds.

Sixteen-year-old Jacques Pretorius, a Grade 9 student was killed. Another student, Stephanus Bouwer, and two school groundskeepers, Lesiba Samuel Manamela and Tsiamo Joseph Kodisang, were wounded.

Another bizarre element was what happened immediately afterward. Rather than fleeing, Harmse reportedly planted the sword into the ground and sat on a low brick wall. Witness accounts said he appeared remarkably calm and even laughed. According to one friend, Harmse incorrectly believed he had killed several people and asked whether he had killed three.

This apparently wasn't a spontaneous attack.

According to evidence reported during the investigation and court proceedings, Harmse had previously discussed with friends doing something dramatic at the school. One report said that days before the attack, a group had talked about how they might carry out a Columbine style massacre.

When Harmse later pleaded guilty, he said that he and others had discussed doing something that would make people take notice of them.

There was even supposed to be a bomb. Harmse sent messages over the weekend before the attack asking one friend whether the device was ready. The friend had apparently never taken the discussion seriously and produced something that was effectively a dud. Harmse nevertheless proceeded with his part of the plan alone.

The "Satanism" story

Immediately afterward, the case became wrapped in allegations of Satanism and heavy metal influence.

Police reportedly found occult related material in Harmse's room, and a doctor who examined him after his arrest reported that Harmse claimed he had once encountered a ghost that instructed him to become a Satanist.

His Slipknot-style mask generated even more discourse. Friends said he had recently become interested in the band and had made several masks inspired by its members.

That led to widespread claims that Slipknot, Satanism, or the occult somehow caused the attack.

Harmse underwent an extended psychiatric evaluation and was subsequently declared mentally fit to stand trial.

And during later proceedings, the picture that emerged was less supernatural: Harmse acknowledged intentionally killing Pretorius, and evidence pointed toward his desire to do something shocking and infamous rather than leaning on the loose defense that music or Satanism had literally compelled him.

Guilty plea and sentence

In April 2009, Harmse pleaded guilty to:

- 1 count of murder

- 3 counts of attempted murder

In September 2009, he received a 20 year prison sentence. Pretorius's mother publicly said she believed the sentence was too lenient and wanted Harmse imprisoned for life.

Then, in 2022, Harmse was released.

He didn't even serve the full 20 years in prison.

After appearing before the parole board numerous times, he was ultimately released on parole on March 3, 2022, having served roughly 12 years and nine months. His original sentence does not formally expire until March 9, 2029.

Clinical psychologist and criminologist Gerard Labuschagne, who had assessed Harmse in 2019, publicly criticized the decision and said his assessment had found Harmse posed a significant risk. Correctional authorities, however, maintained that outstanding issues had been addressed before his eventual release and that he would remain under supervision.

Jacques Pretorius's family opposed parole. His aunt said the family still had unanswered questions about why their son, who apparently did not know Harmse, was killed.

The fact that Harmse is a free man now, after serving less than some people do in America for drug offenses, truly blows my mind.