Three students were killed and seven others injured after two teenagers allegedly opened fire inside a secondary school in the central Philippines on Monday, in one of the country’s rare school shooting incidents.
Police identified the suspected shooters as boys aged 15 and 14. According to authorities, the pair fired indiscriminately inside San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte Province, triggering panic among students and teachers.
Lieutenant Evalyn Diaz said investigators were still questioning the suspects and trying to determine how they obtained the firearms and managed to bring them onto school grounds.
“The shooting appeared random,” Diaz said, adding that reports of bullying had emerged as a possible motive, though investigations were ongoing.
The attack sent terrified students scrambling for safety.
Irvin Nogar, a social studies teacher at the school, said he was conducting a class when he heard several gunshots.
“I saw one of the shooters moving toward our area. I immediately told my students to stay calm, hide under their desks and remain quiet while I locked the classroom door,” he said. “They were frightened and crying.”
Video footage verified by AFP showed students screaming and taking cover inside classrooms as gunfire echoed through the school.
Among those grieving was Jennelyn Badoria, whose 15-year-old child was killed in the attack. She called for anyone who enabled the teenagers to access the weapons to be held accountable.
“The guns should never have ended up in the hands of children,” she said outside the school.
The seven injured students were receiving treatment at a local hospital, though authorities had not released details about their conditions.
The Philippine Department of Education described the incident as a “high-alert situation” and said officials were coordinating closely with school administrators and law enforcement agencies to secure the campus.
President Ferdinand Marcos expressed sadness over the tragedy, with presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro saying the attack had left many families overwhelmed by grief and fear.
School shootings are uncommon in the Philippines, where firearm ownership is tightly regulated.
However, authorities have long struggled with the proliferation of illegal weapons.
A 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that more than half of Filipino boys and 43 percent of girls reported being bullied at least several times a month, rates significantly higher than the average among OECD countries.
The latest tragedy has renewed concerns about school safety, bullying and access to illegal firearms, as investigators continue to piece together what led to the deadly attack.
