2 students dead in Philippines school shooting including gunman, officials say

On Tuesday, a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines claimed the lives of two students, one of them the gunman, according to officials. This marked the second such incident in the country in less than two months. The attack occurred at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, a privately-run institution in Zamboanga city, where the gunman brought a pistol and a rifle onto the campus and opened fire in a classroom.

The perpetrator, a grade nine student, subsequently took his own life. The victim was a male student from a grade above him, as reported by police. University president Ernald Andal confirmed that the active shooting had ended and there were no further fatalities or reported injuries. Andal expressed concern over such incidents, emphasizing the priority given to student safety.

This incident followed a similar attack in June at a public high school in Tacloban City, where at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured when two fellow students opened fire on campus. School shootings are uncommon in the Philippines, which has relatively stringent gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluations. However, illegal firearms are believed to be prevalent.

Footage from the news channel ANC depicted students and parents gathering outside the school, some armed police and soldiers present, as well as crime scene investigators arriving at the scene. The school, a five-story building on an 8-hectare site, houses the university's grade school and junior high school students. This tragic event followed a high-profile shooting rampage in Thailand less than 10 days prior, where a student went on a shooting spree at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.