At least six students were killed, and 17 others were wounded in a shooting incident that took place in the Philippines on Friday, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The shooting occurred around 1:15 pm inside one of the classrooms of Banga National High School in Banga town in South Cotabato province. The suspected gunman reportedly shot himself dead after firing at his classmates. All the victims were aged between 14 and 16.
“Police identified the gunman as a Grade 9 pupil who shot himself in the head after firing at his classmates,” said South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. The shooter reportedly used the 9mm Glock pistol owned by his father, who is a member of a local gun club.
"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. After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself," Mayor Albert Palencia told Reuters.
Authorities spoke to the student’s close friend, who alleged that he was a member of the "true crime community." A teacher also reported that the student suffered from low self-esteem after receiving a poor grade. The police are looking into both the leads.
Videos shared by social media users show panicked students running out of the school and volunteers carrying injured students.
The Philippine Department of Education is actively coordinating with local authorities and law enforcement to help the affected students and teachers. Classes for all grades were immediately suspended in schools in the Banga municipality following the incident.
This is the third shooting incident in the Southern Philippines since June. On June 22, two students opened fire and killed three students in Tacloban. Last month, a student live-streamed himself shooting and killing another student before taking his own life. Shooter drills were conducted across the country earlier this month to teach students and staff how to respond in case of a shooting.
