Philippine student live-streamed fatal school shooting before taking own life, official says

Manila, Philippines: A student streamed a fatal school shooting on live video before killing himself, an official reported. This marks the second school attack in the country within less than two months. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tasked law enforcement to investigate and prevent future school violence. "Our schools are the places where we entrust our children to learn, grow, and dream about their futures. They must also be among the safest places in our country," he stated in a statement.

The incident occurred at a school attached to the privately-run Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga city, where the gunman brought a pistol and a rifle to the campus and opened fire inside a classroom. According to a preliminary police report, the shooter used a .40-caliber pistol issued to the student's father by the Bureau of Customs and a licensed personal firearm owned by the same father.

The shooter entered one classroom, fired, then changed weapons before entering a second classroom and firing again. A student was left lying on the ground in an unclear condition.

The motive for the attack is still unclear, but a senior customs official stated that the shooter used his father's issued firearm. Two others were wounded in the shooting. The victim was a male grade 10 student, and the gunman, a grade 9 student, took his own life. Two others were found wounded after the shooting. The school, a five-story building on an 8-hectare site, houses the university’s grade school and junior high school students.

Several students were treated for injuries during the chaos as they fled the scene. No other deaths were reported, and classes have been suspended.

The shooting is reminiscent of an attack in June at a public high school in Tacloban City, central Philippines, where two students opened fire and killed at least three others and injured about 20. School shootings are rare in the Philippines, which has strict gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluations.

However, illegal firearms still circulate. This incident follows a high-profile incident in Thailand, where a student carried out a shooting rampage at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.