Chaos at Cumberland High School

Chaos descended on the grounds of the Cumberland High School in St Catherine early yesterday morning after students raised an alarm claiming they saw gunmen entering the premises.

"Some students ran to the office saying that men were on the compound with guns. We circled the school to look and saw no one. We called the police to ensure that the children are safe, and we called Hawkeye, which is our contracted security company," principal, Michael Bryson, told THE STAR.

He explained that the police went on to interview one of the boys who claimed he saw a gunman on the school roof, however, the presence of the security personnel caused great panic among the students, and the situation escalated.

gunmen scare

"The students started to call their parents telling them that something was happening at the school and they should come for them. Because they came and saw the police, it kinda became chaotic, and the police called other police," Bryson explained.

Even before the gunmen scare, there were other incidents that caused panic at the school. "About 8:30 a.m. there was a girl who had fainted long before [the gunmen incident]. So I'm wondering if that caused the students to think something was up."

"Half hour later, I heard two girls speaking in tongues on the corridor prior to the incident where the boys ran to the office. You know like when you're at church and people 'get in spirit', that's how they were behaving. I took them to the nurse," Bryson said.

Despite the widespread panic at the school yesterday, Bryson said it should be business as usual today. Police are still investigating the incident.