Armed intruder drill puts Bukit Batok Secondary School students, staff to the test

: Get tips on how to help your child succeed Education Minister Desmond Lee observing Bukit Batok Secondary School’s emergency preparedness exercise. The police shared their observations of the exercise with the school. PHOTO: MOE Vanessa Paige Chelvan Updated Oct 23, 2026, PM Set as preferred source Listen Summarise Bukit Batok Secondary School held an armed intruder drill on Oct 22. About 1,100 students and 160 staff practised lockdown, hiding and alerting authorities. Education Minister Desmond Lee said regular practice builds “confidence, resilience and preparedness”. He praised students and teachers for looking out for one another during the exercise. MOE said schools run about three emergency drills a year with the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force. The drills are reviewed often to meet new threats and support SGSecure. AI generated SINGAPORE – A “visitor” turned hostile after entering Bukit Batok Secondary School on Oct 22, pulling out a knife and triggering a lockdown as students and staff scrambled to safety. Classroom doors were locked, and students and staff stayed out of sight as the school activated its emergency response procedures. The “armed intruder” was part of an emergency drill involving about 1,100 students and 160 staff, aimed at preparing them for possible security threats. Education Minister Desmond Lee said he was encouraged to see students and teachers looking out for one another during the exercise, which he observed. “While we hope such situations never occur, regular practice helps build confidence, resilience and preparedness in the event of a crisis,” he said in a Facebook post on Oct 23. During the drill, the school sent out alerts through its internal communication channels and went into lockdown. Students and staff followed the Run, Hide, Tell protocol, which teaches them to run to safety if possible, hide if they cannot escape, and alert the authorities. The exercise was part of regular drills that schools hold to prepare for emergencies, from fires and bomb threats to incidents involving hostile visitors. The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Oct 23 that all primary and secondary schools, junior colleges, Millennia Institute and special education schools conduct about three emergency drills each year. The drills are planned with the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force to make them as realistic as possible and help schools improve their procedures. MOE said it also regularly reviews the scenarios to prepare schools for new and changing threats. At Bukit Batok Secondary, Secondary 3 student Delicia Myrtle Deselva, 15, was among the first to spot the simulated attacker.