False alarm triggers panic at Tacloban school weeks after fatal shooting

TACLOBAN CITY — A false alarm of another shooting sent students scrambling out of the San Jose National High School here on Friday, July 24, prompting school officials to cancel afternoon classes and underscoring the lingering trauma from a deadly shooting at the campus last month.

The commotion began after loud shouts and banging sounds were heard from the Grade 12 building, where students were conducting an English class activity.

According to information gathered by the Inquirer, a teacher asked a student to sing in front of the class. While singing, the student invited his girlfriend to join him, exciting the rest of the class. Some students began banging their chairs, creating a loud noise that was mistaken by students in a nearby building for gunfire.

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Panic quickly spread as students ran out of their classrooms and attempted to leave the school premises.

Several students suffered wounds on their knees and hands after stumbling during the rush.

Others reportedly experienced hyperventilation and shock and were taken out of the campus in ambulances provided by the city government.

A Grade 10 student said she heard students screaming as they ran from their classrooms.

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“This made us scared and panicked. At first, we tried to stay inside, but when we saw other students panicking and shouting, we decided to leave our room,” she said.

She was later found outside the school gate with her classmates, with wounds on her knees and hands.

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Parent Eva Solayao said she rushed to the school after learning about the incident to fetch her Grade 9 daughter, who suffered wounds on both knees during the stampede.

“She told me that they forced the gate open to get out,” Solayao said.

Solayao said her daughter was still traumatized by the June 22 shooting at the same school, where she saw one of her classmates being shot.

“She saw her classmate being shot by the suspect, and until now, she is still traumatized,” Solayao said.

Another parent, Russel Balais, also hurried to the school after learning about the latest incident to fetch her Grade 7 son.

“I hurried here when I learned that there was another incident at the school. My son was still in his classroom when I picked him up,” Balais said.

The parents said the panic among the students was understandable given the trauma caused by the June 22 shooting, which left three students dead and 20 others wounded.

The incident occurred less than a month after the school had been placed under heightened security following the deadly attack. The school has about 1,500 students and more than 100 personnel.

One of the suspects, a 15-year-old student, is facing three counts of murder, three counts of frustrated murder and multiple counts of physical injuries in connection with the June 22 shooting.

Police were investigating the latest incident, while school authorities and local officials responded to the panic and assisted students who were injured or suffered distress during the rush to leave the campus. /mr