Philippine teen kills two students, then himself in school shooting
Eight other students were wounded, four of them critically, said Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place. All those affected were students aged 14 to 17
Highlights:
- Incident is third school shooting in Philippines since June
- Eight wounded, four in critical condition
- Governor urges parents to keep guns out of reach of minors
- Suspect used gun belonging to his father, says mayor
A 16-year-old student shot dead at least two fellow students and then killed himself at a school in the southern Philippines on Friday, provincial officials said.
Eight other students were wounded, four of them critically, said Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place. All those affected were students aged 14 to 17, he said.
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The incident is the third fatal school shooting in the Philippines since June, after such attacks had previously been rare.
"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 told Reuters.
"After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself," Palencia added.
Palencia told DZBB radio that the suspected gunman appeared to have fired indiscriminately at students in a classroom next to his own after leaving his Grade 9 classroom.
The suspect used a 9-mm pistol belonging to his father, a Department of Education employee, Palencia said. The teenager allegedly broke into a vault where the firearm had been stored and took it to school.
The mayor said the teenager carried two magazines for the weapon and reloaded after emptying the first one before turning the gun on himself.
Palencia described the suspect as an intelligent student who was active in taekwondo. He said there was no indication that the teenager had been bullied.
Online communities
Authorities are also examining the role of online communities in the attack. Palencia, citing information from police, said investigators found that the suspect had posted in an online "true crime" community and were trying to determine the nature of the group.
The disclosure comes after a Senate inquiry into a deadly school shooting in Tacloban in June examined the role of the so-called True Crime Community, which police cybercrime officials described as an online network of young people who share and consume violent extremist content.
At least three students were killed and about 20 others injured in that attack at a public high school in Tacloban, where two classmates opened fire on campus.
Last month, a student live-streamed himself shooting and killing another student in a classroom in Zamboanga in the country's south before taking his own life. The incident renewed debate over children's access to social media and online content, as well as calls for tougher gun storage and safety measures.
The Philippines has relatively strict gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluation requirements, although illegal firearms remain in circulation.
Friday's shooting also follows a high-profile incident in Thailand in August, where a student went on a shooting rampage at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.
South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo urged parents to ensure that guns were kept out of the reach of minors.
"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 by phone.
"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."
