2 students dead in Philippines school shooting, including gunman

Two students were killed in a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, with one of the deceased identified as the gunman, according to media reports. The incident took place at a school attached to the privately run Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City.According to a preliminary police report, the gunman, a Grade 9 student, brought a pistol and a rifle onto the school campus and opened fire at students inside a classroom. He later died by suicide.The other victim was a male student who was one grade above the gunman, police said.
University president Ernald Andal confirmed that the shooting was no longer active and that there were no additional fatalities or reported injuries following the incident.“We do not want any of these things to happen. We wish to prioritise the safety of all our students,” Andal said.Footage aired by local news channel ANC showed students and parents gathered outside the school gates, while armed police and soldiers were deployed at the site. Crime scene investigators also arrived at the school as authorities began examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The school is housed in a five-storey building spread across an eight-hectare site and caters to grade school and junior high school students, according to the university’s website.The incident comes less than two months after another school shooting in the Philippines. In June, at least three students were killed and around 20 others injured when two students opened fire at a public high school in Tacloban City.School shootings are relatively rare in the Philippines, which has strict regulations governing gun ownership, including background checks and psychological evaluation requirements. However, illegal firearms continue to circulate in the country.The latest shooting also comes less than 10 days after a high-profile school shooting in Thailand, where a student went on a shooting rampage at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.