1 dead, 20 injured as University underwent mock terror drill

olamide oni

December 1, 2015 3:00 PM

One person has died during a mock terror drill at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Strathmore Shooting

A mock anti-terror drill in Strathmore University, Nairobi in Kenya has led to the death of one and 20 other caualties.

The students began to panic when blasts and shooting invaded the air. The blasts later proved to be nothing more than anti-terror drills which caught the oblivious staff and students by surprise. They all rushed to the exit to escape and the stampede led to the death of one staff member.

“We confirm that we have one fatality, this evening. One staff member by name , 33, has died from severe head injuries,” the university’s Director of Communication, Betty Ngala, said in a statement.

Reports of gunfire at the university spread on social media before the authorities were able to confirm the incident was a test.

More than 20 students were wounded in the stampede, due to some of them attempting to jump off upper floors.

“Most of those we received had fractures while some sustained head and chest injuries,” said Dr. Evans Mwenda of Nairobi West Hospital.

The chaos started at around midday local time, and witness reports of gunfire on the campus even went out on international newswires.

"It was a mock exercise," Japheth Koome, the police commander in the capital told Reuters later. "We wanted to check on alertness of emergency services."

The staff and students have every reason to panic, due to the fact that, in April, this year, al-Shabaab militants stormed a campus at Garissa University College in the east of the country, near the border with Somalia.

olamide oni