2 killed, 8 wounded in shooting at Philippines school, gunman kills himself
Friday's shooting follows two other school shootings since June, including incidents in Zamboanga and Tacloban that left at least four students dead and around 20 injured.
A 16-year-old student shot dead at least two fellow students and injured eight others before killing himself at a school in the southern Philippines on Friday, officials said.
The shooting took place in Banga town in South Cotabato province. Four of the injured students were in critical condition, Mayor Albert Palencia told Reuters.
All those killed or injured were aged between 14 and 17. The suspected gunman allegedly warned his friends about the attack before it began, but they did not take him seriously because he was known to joke frequently.
“The suspect supposedly sat beside his friends and told them to go home ‘because after lunch, I will be executing my plan’. His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker,” Palencia said.
“After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself,” he added.
STUDENT FIRED INSIDE CLASSROOM
Palencia said the teenager left his Grade 9 classroom after lunch and entered an adjoining classroom, where he appeared to fire indiscriminately at students. The gunman used a 9-mm pistol belonging to his father, an employee of the Department of Education.
He allegedly broke into a vault where the firearm was stored and brought it to school. The student was carrying two magazines and reloaded after emptying the first one. He then turned the gun on himself, according to the mayor.
Palencia described the teenager as an intelligent student who was active in taekwondo. There was no immediate indication that he had been bullied.
The motive remains under investigation. Several videos showing students running after hearing gunshots and injured children being taken for treatment have circulated on social media.
Other clips purportedly showed the bloodied aftermath inside a classroom.
ONLINE ACTIVITY UNDER PROBE
Investigators are examining the teenager’s online activity and his possible links to a “true crime” community. Palencia, citing police information, said the student had posted in an online group focused on true crime.
Authorities are trying to establish the nature of the community and whether it influenced the attack.
The development comes after a Senate inquiry into a school shooting in Tacloban in June examined the role of the so-called True Crime Community. Police cybercrime officials described it as an online network in which young people share and consume violent extremist content.
At least three students were killed and around 20 others injured when two classmates opened fire at a public high school in Tacloban. Last month, a student in Zamboanga live-streamed himself shooting another student inside a classroom before killing himself.
The two incidents, followed by Friday’s attack, have raised concerns over minors’ access to firearms, social media and violent online content. School shootings had previously been rare in the Philippines.
CALL FOR SAFER GUN STORAGE
South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo urged gun owners to prevent children from gaining access to firearms. “We need to be responsible in storing firearms. Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them,” Tamayo told Reuters.
“We cannot expect a handful of security personnel to monitor thousands of students. We need to work together because otherwise this will be very difficult for us to address,” he added.
The Philippines has relatively strict rules for legal gun ownership, including background checks and psychological evaluations. Illegal firearms, however, remain in circulation.
Friday’s shooting also came weeks after a student opened fire at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand.