DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. -- Dinwiddie High School student Alonna Perkins said she was in class on the second floor of the school building when she heard a loud bang that shook the walls of her classroom.
"It sounded like someone was going through the wall," she said. "I was nervous, scared. I thought it was a fight though. And then I heard the fire alarm get pulled. At first, we thought it was a prank or something. It sounded like a fight, but it wasn't."
What sounded like a fight was actually an emergency incident inside a chemistry lab during a science demonstration, according to school officials and first responders. Students described the incident as an explosion and fire.
Three students were flown to VCU Medical Center via helicopter. One student was treated and released on school grounds. A teacher was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of their injuries.
Dinwiddie High School sophomore Nicholas Peters said he was in a different part of the school when it happened.
"It was almost like a rumble, like an earthquake, then after that all we heard was screaming and then we realized something was wrong," Peters said. "It was definitely utter chaos. It was terrible."
Amanda Davis, a parent of a sophomore student at the high school, said she wants more details about what happened in her child's school.
"I'm hoping we have some kind of answers as to why this occurred and making sure the children are okay," Davis said.
Juniors Emily and Kiley Dougherty said they knew some of the students in the classroom where the incident occurred, hoping they were okay. Emily said she could smell chemicals when she went back into the buildings to collect her belongings.
"It's scary," Emily Dougherty said. "I mean, depending on the burns, it's hard to fix people's skin."
The investigation into the situation remains ongoing.
School officials said there would be an asynchronous learning day for students on Thursday, October 13. Students will be able to return to school on Friday, October 14.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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