A shooting at the National Bangga High School in the city of Bangga, located in the province of South Cotabato in southern Philippines, on Friday resulted in the deaths of two 14-year-old students and a teenage shooter. The incident also led to the injury of at least eight other students.
Details of the Incident and Officials' Response
According to local officials and police, the shooting occurred during a class at the National Bangga High School. The Philippine National Police announced that an investigation has been initiated, and security forces secured the school premises while cooperating with school officials and medical services.
Reynaldo Tamayo, the governor of South Cotabato province, stated that the two deceased students included a 14-year-old boy and a girl, and the shooter also turned the gun on himself and died.
Reactions and Information About the Shooter
Albert Palencia, the mayor of Bangga, stated in an interview with a radio station that the 16-year-old shooter fired at 10 students in an adjacent classroom. Of these, two lost their lives, and eight others were injured. According to the governor, one of the students who was severely traumatized was also taken to the hospital.
Palencia added that the shooter's best friend told authorities that he was a member of a "real criminal community" online. Officials are investigating this claim and its connection to the shooting.
According to the mayor, the shooter had told his friends after lunch that he "wanted to do something" and asked them to go home. His friends took this as a joke. After lunch, the shooter began firing at students in the adjacent classroom and then shot himself after changing the magazine of his 9mm weapon.
This weapon belonged to the shooter's father, who is an employee of the Department of Education, and the father had hidden the gun in a safe that his son had broken into. Police also found posts that the shooter had published in the online community, where young people involved in school shootings are praised.
According to the shooter's school counselor, his mother intended to take him to a psychiatrist.
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