MENIFEE, Calif. – Students at Ethan Chase Middle School thought a bomb went off in the school quad last Friday morning when a student lit fireworks and threw them in a trash can.

Five students were hospitalized and 13 others suffered minor injuries – mostly ringing ears – after a student at the Menifee middle school set off the explosives during lunch time, around 11 a.m., NBC Los Angeles reports.

“There was just such a huge explosion and everyone was … freaking out,” student Victoria Morales told the news site.

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“It was, like, green … there was smoke,” she said.

“The first thing we thought it was a gunshot and we were very scared so we ran to the blacktop and just standing there waiting for teachers,” said Joshua Zabala, another student.

The fire department issued a statement that a total of 18 students were “exposed to a loud explosive device and sustained minor injuries,” and five were sent to the hospital. The sheriff’s department said no students were burned, KTLA 5 reports.

“They were complaining about ringing in their ears, some of them had severe headaches,” student David Gonzalez told NBC Los Angeles.

The school went into lockdown following the blast and waited for the sheriff’s hazardous device team to arrive and clear the area.

“I was trying to call my mom and dad and there was a teacher who was listening to me and she took my phone away and told me that I wasn’t allowed to call my parents,” sixth-grade student David Gonzalez  told MyValleyNews.com. “What I was thinking in my head was I just wanted to get out of school and just contact them either way.”

Parents were equally frustrated by the lack of communication during the roughly -minute lockdown.

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“Then I get up here and find they are transporting my kid to Loma Linda Hospital in Murrieta,” parent Jamie Williams told My Valley News. “My concern as a parent is no one from the school would come out and talk to us, no one is even answering the phone.”

Gonzalez, a teacher’s aide in the school office said “the office got really crazy and what they had to do was arrange some lines.

“The parents wanted to check them (students) out but (the school) wouldn’t let them because we were on lockdown, no one could get in and no one could get out,” he told the news site.

District assistant superintendent Trevor Painton told NBC Los Angeles “We have one student identified as detonating the firework,” though it’s unclear if other students were involved or what punishment the prankster might receive.

Officials said the suspected culprit was carrying more fireworks, which they confiscated, according to the news site.

The incident generated some interesting comments online.

“A prank is a phone call asking if your refrigerator is running, or a whoopee cushion, not illegal explosives that can injure or maim someone,” Red Elephant posted to ABC 7.

“Get over it grandma,” John the electrician replied. “Harleys are louder than firecrackers.”

“Everything is fun and games until someone gets hurt,” RJ Tolman wrote. “It’s amazing that kids don’t learn from previous generations – especially about something like this.”

Student Antonio Calderon wrote that he was in physical education class when the explosion occurred. He’s new to the school, he wrote, and the firework stunt wasn’t funny.

“I think it’s dumb because how are those kids going to spend their week and one day off in the hospital. It’s dumb, (I hope they get kicked out of) school because I don’t want something like this to happen again,” Calderon wrote.

Student Symphony Agundez also posted about her experience during the blast.

“I feel bad for the people who got hurt. I am one of the students at Ethan A Chase Middle School. When I heard that explosion I ran to my fourth period class, but some of my friends got hurt,” she wrote.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” Boo! posted in response.