BACOLOD CITY – A 12-year-old Grade 7 student is under the custody of the City Social Welfare and Development Office in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental for allegedly bringing a firearm inside the premises of the Negros Oriental High School at noon on Friday, October 11.
Police Lt. Stephen Polinar, Negros Oriental police spokesman, said that lawmen received a call for assistance about an alleged incident of illegal discharge of firearm around 12:42 p.m.
Police Major Fortunato Villafuerte, deputy chief of the Dumaguete City Police Station, said that based on their investigation, the student allegedly brought a .45 caliber pistol inside the school.
The student allegedly fired a shot through a window. Fortunately, no students or individuals were wounded in the incident, Villafuerte said.
The incident was reported to the police who arrived with the CSWDO and took him into custody.
Villafuerte said that the student allegedly took the firearm from a relative or a family member. He said they will check the owner of the firearm and added that an in-depth investigation is now being conducted by the CSWDO.
Meanwhile, the school, in a statement, said that no indiscriminate firing incident took place inside the school campus.
"There was no ‘indiscriminate firing’ that took place inside the school, but the information about a student bringing a gun was properly investigated and all concerned were duly processed," Principal I Raniel Estimar, district-in-charge, said.
Estimar urged people to refrain from spreading fake news and misinformation for the sake of the young learners and the entire school and prevent unnecessary panic and anxiety.
He thanked the NOHS alumni, parents, guardians, and stakeholders for their concern and added that the safety and security of all learners, teachers, and staff are ensured.
Police said that other details on the incident are now being handled by the CSWDO as the student is undergoing counseling.