Three dead in Philippines school shooting

A 16-year-old suspected gunman and two students were killed Friday in a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines, the country’s third deadly school shooting since June.

Eight people were injured in the attack at Banga National High School in Banga town, South Cotabato, on the island of Mindanao. Four of the injured were in critical condition, officials said. A disaster agency worker told Al Jazeera that all of the victims were students aged 14 to 17.

Banga Mayor Albert Palencia told the BBC that two of those killed were 14-year-old students and that the suspected gunman was also dead. South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo said the suspected shooter had shot himself after the attack, according to Al Jazeera, and Reuters reported that the mayor later confirmed the attacker had died.

Authorities had not immediately clarified whether more than one attacker was involved. Al Jazeera reported that a teacher could be heard in a video circulating on social media saying there were two shooters, while a student could be heard saying “they” were outsiders to the school.

Palencia told Reuters that the gunman had warned friends during a lunchtime conversation that they should go home “because after lunch, [he would] be executing [his] 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.”

The Philippines Department of Education said it was “deeply concerned by the reported shooting incident” and was coordinating with authorities to verify details and provide support.

“Our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of our learners, teachers and school personnel,” the department said. “We urge everyone to remain calm and refrain from sharing unverified information as authorities continue their investigation.”

Classes were suspended “in all levels in the entire municipality of Banga” after the shooting, the Banga disaster management authorities said. The Philippine Red Cross said it was alerted to the incident at 2 p.m. local time and sent an ambulance with four paramedics to provide life-saving assistance.

Police were at the school investigating, local media reported, according to the BBC.

The attack followed two other deadly school shootings in the Philippines in recent months. In June, three students were killed and others injured after their peers opened fire at a high school in the central Philippines. Investigators believed that shooting was motivated by a “grudge” linked to bullying, the BBC reported. In August, a student at a Catholic junior high school in the southern Philippines shot dead another student and later killed himself after firing at a teacher and missing, according to the BBC.

Al Jazeera reported that nationwide shooter drills had been conducted in recent weeks to strengthen school security after the earlier attacks.

After Friday’s shooting, Tamayo urged adult gun owners to “be responsible in storing firearms” and to keep them away from minors.

“We cannot expect a handful of security personnel to monitor thousands of students,” he told Reuters. “We need to work together because otherwise this will be very difficult for us to address.”

Tamayo also sought to reassure residents. “For now, we are trying to let our fellow citizens know that the situation is stable and the case is contained,” he said. “We never thought this would happen.”