Source: News One

A Bartow, Florida high school student by the name of of Kiera Wilmot, has been expelled from school, arrested and is now facing adult felony charges after a seemingly innocent science project went horribly wrong.

According to WTSP News 10, Kiera mixed household chemicals together in a small water bottle for a school science project. Unfortunately, those chemicals reacted and blew up on school grounds. Kiera’s principal Ron Pritchard told WTSP that she’s a good student and has never caused any trouble prior to this incident.

“She is a good kid. She has never been in trouble before. Ever.”

Pritchard went on to say that he doesn’t believe she meant any harm by the project and that he could tell that the outcome of the project shocked her just as it did everyone else.

“She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don’t think she meant to ever hurt anyone. She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked, too. She told us everything and was very honest. She didn’t run or try to hide the truth. We had a long conversation with her.”

Although the explosion didn’t harm anyone, Wilmot was taken away in handcuffs and has been charged with possession and discharge of a weapon on school grounds and discharging a destructive device. As a result of the incident, Kiera, who has been described by her high school’s staff as an “exemplary student” will now have to finish school in an expulsion program.

It appears that the incident has been blown way out of proportion and the school district’s administration is simply using Kiera as an example. Polk County Schools issued this statement regarding the incident.

“Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us. Unfortunately, the incident that occurred at Bartow High School yesterday was a serious breach of conduct. In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules. We urge our parents to join us in conveying the message that there are consequences to actions. We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff.”

Turn the page to watch news coverage on Kiera’s arrest. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Kiera’s punishment was too harsh?

By Charlotte Young

In two separate but equally terrifying incidents, tragedy stuck East Africa’s Tanzania and Kenya this past weekend.

First in Tanzania, IPPmedia.com reports that a marine accident in Zanzibar killed 240 people on Saturday, with the death toll continuing to rise as bodies are pulled out of the ocean. An MV Spice Islander boat capsized in the Nungwi area of Zanzibar after loading its passengers. The passenger’s manifest states that 610 passengers boarded the boat at Zanzibar port and 166 boarded at Dar es Salaam. The boat has the capacity to carry about 600 passengers.

The Director of Zanzibar Port Authority, Mustafa Aboud Jumbe has accepted no blame for the incident, claiming that the authority is not responsible for supervising marine transport services of passengers or cargo.

“This is the duty of the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA), which was established by the law to oversee marine and surface transport sectors,” Jumbe told Tanzanian newspaper Nipashe.

Mussa Ali Mussa, the Zanzibar Police Commissioners announced the death toll on Sunday. Many of the unidentified dead have been buried in the Kama area–west district. Recovered bodies are being buried immediately, although records will be kept for relatives seeking their loved ones.

To assist with the rescue mission, the National Social Security Fund (NSSSF) has donated funds to assist the government and burial activities. The government will hold a special prayer on Monday at the Maisara grounds in honor of the people who died in the tragic incident.

In neighboring Kenya, a leaking gasoline pipeline in Nairobi exploded on Monday killing at least 61 people and leaving over 100 injured. According to the Associated Press the flames spread about 300 yards from the pipeline incinerating everything in its path, “leaving charred bodies and blacked bones in the charred homes.”

Policeman Wilfred Mbithi, who is in charge of operations in Nairobi, told the AP that he’d lost count of the number of bodies. Many people had jumped into the now oil soaked river in attempts to put out their flames.

Report says that Kenyatta National Hospital is urgently in need of blood donors and blankets. At least 112 burn victims have arrived at the hospital so far. Many of them are children with more than a third of their bodies burned, some are unrecognizable.

The cause of the explosion on Monday is still unknown.