3 killed, 7 injured in rare shooting at school in Philippines, police say; 2 students were arrested

Manila, Philippines – Two students armed with guns opened fire at a high school in the central Philippines on Monday, killing three other students and wounding seven, police said.

Suspects aged 14 and 15 were arrested. The suspects and victims were students of San Jose National High School in the city of Tacloban, southeast of Manila, where the shooting happened this morning, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the shooting at this government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students. Capoy said the suspects, who are close friends, when they were first asked said they were being abused at school. He did not elaborate.

They have no criminal records, Capoy said. They were able to bring guns into the campus because there was only one security guard at most of the entrances and exits, he added.

The national police spokesperson, Allen Rae Co, told the media that the 9 mm pistol used in the incident was registered to a female police officer in the region and she was detained, reports the French news agency AFP. Co said another weapon used in the shooting, a .38 caliber revolver, was registered to a security agency in Cebu City in the central Philippines.

It is not clear how the suspects got the weapons, police said.

More than 40 empty shells were found at the scene, police added.

“The suspects entered two rooms because after the shooting incident in the first one, the children scattered and the suspects ran after the victims and entered another room,” Capoy told the media.

He said most of the dead and injured were female students.

In a video posted online, students hiding under desks in a closed classroom could be heard screaming and crying as gunfire could be heard outside. Some called their mothers. Some videos show students who appear to be in shock leaving the school, others holding each other and hugging each other.

One of the suspects was arrested at the school after the attack, but the second escaped and hid in a nearby house. He was found by police who were tipped off by residents, police said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and asked the law enforcement to strengthen security in all schools, workplaces and public places, said Secretary of the Department of Communications Claire Castro.

“The president is saddened by this incident. Anyone, especially the parents of the victims, will be saddened and scared,” said Castro.

National police urged the public to calm down and cooperate with the authorities by providing information that could help in the ongoing investigation.

Crime involving firearms is rampant in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of illegal firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.

In 2022, a gunman opened fire at an upscale university in the city of Manila before the graduation ceremony, killing the former mayor of the Philippine city the suspect had a long feud with and two others in the attack. The gunman was arrested.