A 16-year-old student shot and killed two fellow students before taking his own life at a school in Banga, South Cotabato, southern Philippines, on Friday, according to provincial officials.
Eight other students were injured in the attack, with four of them reported to be in critical condition.
Banga Mayor Albert Palencia said all those affected were students aged between 14 and 17.
Palencia said the teenager allegedly told his friends before the attack that he would carry out his plan after lunch, but they reportedly dismissed the statement because he was known for joking.
“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,” Palencia told Reuters.
“After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself,” Palencia added.
In another interview with DZBB radio, the mayor said the teenager left his Grade 9 classroom and allegedly opened fire indiscriminately on students in a neighbouring classroom.
According to Palencia, the suspect used a 9-mm pistol belonging to his father, who works for the Department of Education.
The teenager allegedly broke into a vault where the firearm was kept, took the weapon to school and carried two magazines.
He reloaded after emptying the first magazine before turning the gun on himself.
Palencia described the teenager as an intelligent student who was active in taekwondo and said there was no indication that he had been bullied.
Authorities are also investigating whether an online community played a role in the incident after police reportedly found that the teenager had posted in an online “true crime” community.
The shooting is the third fatal school gun incident reported in the Philippines since June, after attacks in Tacloban and Zamboanga.
The latest incident has renewed concerns over young people’s access to firearms and violent online content, as well as calls for safer gun storage.
South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo urged gun owners to prevent minors from accessing firearms.
“We need to be responsible in storing firearms. Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them,” Tamayo told Reuters by phone.
“We cannot expect a handful of security personnel to monitor thousands of students. We need to work together because otherwise this will be very difficult for us to address.”
