Counterterrorism exercise held at NUS UTown with more than 120 participants
This year's Exercise Heartbeat saw Home Team agencies and National University of Singapore students reacting to the detonation of an improved explosive device and a hostage situation.
Officers from the Singapore Police Force detaining a gunman during Exercise Heartbeat at NUS UTown on Feb 13, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Justin Tan)
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SINGAPORE: A calm Friday afternoon (Feb 13) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was disrupted by gunshots as a car sped into University Town.
Three armed men came out and started shooting, sending students scrambling for cover. Several were "hit" and collapsed to the ground, while others took flight.
Amid the chaos, two students sprinted towards the injured, kneeling beside their peers to administer first aid.
Moments later, a siren wailed and officers from the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) ground response team drove in, swiftly moving to tend to the wounded.
Their colleagues from the emergency response team arrived soon after.
Gunfire erupted again when one attacker reappeared and opened fire on the officers. The emergency response team responded, neutralising the man.
A second assailant emerged, holding a student hostage. The police fired shots again, allowing the hostage to break free and run away.
A third attacker then appeared and detonated an improvised explosive device that was planted in the dustbin earlier. Realising he was outnumbered, he surrendered and lay face down.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rescuers rushed in to treat the casualties, while their police counterparts secured the scene and detained the three gunmen.
This was how this year's Exercise Heartbeat - a counterterrorism and emergency preparedness drill - went down.
Organised by SPF and SCDF, the exercise involved more than 120 participants responding to a simulated terror attack at the university.
A security exercise of a similar format was previously held in NUS in 2019, SPF said in a news release.
Students who were involved in the exercise demonstrated advisories such as "run, hide, tell" and "press, tie, tell" before the emergency responders arrived.
These actions show how trained community members can save lives and minimise casualties during crises, while underscoring the importance of periodically reviewing security measures, familiarising and validating contingency plans to be more prepared to respond to emergencies, said the police.
Observing the exercise was Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming.
He told reporters that Exercise Heartbeat showed the strong partnership between the Home Team and NUS as well as the commitment to safeguard Institutes of Higher Learning against the threat of terrorism.
Such simulations provide avenues to put emergency preparedness skills and knowledge into practice, he added.
"When our community is prepared, vigilant, and united, we can respond swiftly and effectively to any threat, and collectively keep Singapore safe and secure."
Mr Adrian Au, vice-president of the Civil Defence Lionhearters club at NUS, said it was "surreal" to see a terror attack - although simulated - play out in a public space like the university.
"This actually makes me feel like there's a chance that it can happen, and that this event actually shows how effective and how the response teams actually react to such emergencies," said the third-year computer science student.
Mr Au, who participated in Friday's exercise as one of those who fled from the scene, said the campus emergency security team reached out to his student organisation to ask if they could volunteer for different roles.
He added that while law enforcement tries their best to teach the public on what to do in such terror scenarios, it ultimately comes down to whether people are ready to react.
"I'm glad that the police forces actually came up with different slogans ... This actually allows the community to easily remember what to do," the 26-year-old said.
