Teen Gunman Kills Two Students, Injures Eight in Philippine School

Teen Gunman Kills Two Students, Injures Eight in Philippine School

A school shooting in the Philippines has left two 14-year-old students dead and eight others injured after a 16-year-old student opened fire at Banga National High School in South Cotabato before taking his own life.

The incident happened at about 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 18, in Banga town on the southern island of Mindanao, sending students fleeing from the school as emergency responders moved in to attend to the victims.

South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo said the two students killed were a boy and a girl, both aged 14. The suspected shooter, a Grade 9 student at the school, also died after shooting himself following the attack.

Banga Mayor Albert Palencia said the teenager opened fire inside a classroom neighbouring his own, hitting 10 students. Two of the victims died while eight others were wounded. Four of those injured were reported to be in critical condition.

The mayor said the teenager had reportedly warned some of his friends before the shooting that he intended to carry out a plan after lunch and advised them to go home because they could become involved. His friends reportedly dismissed the warning, believing he was joking.

After lunch, the teenager reportedly left his classroom and entered a neighbouring classroom, where he began shooting at fellow students. He then changed the magazine of the firearm before shooting himself.

Authorities are investigating how the teenager obtained the firearm and brought it into the school.

According to local officials, the gun belonged to the teenager’s father, an employee of the Philippine Department of Education. The firearm had reportedly been kept in a secured vault, which the teenager allegedly broke open before taking the weapon to school.

The circumstances surrounding the weapon have become a major focus of the investigation, particularly because the suspected shooter was a minor.

South Cotabato Governor Tamayo urged gun owners and parents to ensure that firearms are securely stored and inaccessible to children, stressing that school security personnel alone cannot prevent every possible threat.

Authorities are also investigating reports about the teenager’s involvement in an online True Crime Community, described by officials as an internet group where young people discuss violent crimes and, in some cases, glorify school shooters.

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Authorities have not established that the online activity caused or directly motivated the attack, and investigations into the teenager’s background and possible motive remain ongoing.

The teenager’s mother had reportedly expressed concern about him and was considering taking him for psychiatric assistance, according to information cited by local officials. The circumstances surrounding his behaviour and possible motive remain under investigation.

Emergency responders took the injured students to hospitals in the area, including the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital and Surallah Community Hospital.

The Philippine Department of Education said the safety and wellbeing of students, teachers and school personnel remained its immediate priority. In-person classes in the affected area were suspended, while authorities coordinated medical assistance and psychosocial support for students and staff affected by the incident.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a thorough investigation into the shooting, particularly how a minor was able to obtain a firearm and bring it inside a school.

Marcos also expressed condolences to the families of the victims and directed relevant authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The shooting has renewed concerns over school security, gun storage and minors’ access to firearms in the Philippines, particularly as the country has experienced several deadly school attacks in recent months.

The Banga incident is the third deadly school shooting in the Philippines since June.

In June, a shooting at a public high school in Tacloban City left three students dead and about 20 others injured after two students reportedly opened fire on the campus.

In August, another student in Zamboanga reportedly livestreamed the killing of a fellow student before taking his own life.

The incidents have prompted increased attention to school security and emergency preparedness. The Philippine Department of Education conducted nationwide school safety drills earlier this month as part of efforts to improve responses to armed attacks and other emergencies.

Authorities are now expected to examine not only the circumstances of the Banga shooting but also how the teenager gained access to the weapon, how it was taken into the school and whether any online activity contributed to his actions.

Early reports from authorities gave different casualty figures as emergency teams responded to the shooting. Later reports from local officials, police and national news agencies converged around two student deaths, the death of the 16-year-old suspected gunman and eight injured students, although some reports continued to carry different figures while the investigation was ongoing.

The Banga community is now mourning the two young students killed in the attack, while the injured students remain under medical care and authorities continue their investigation into the country’s latest deadly school shooting.

Teen Gunman Kills Two Students, Injures Eight in Philippine School