Student and teen gunman dead in rare Philippines school shooting, officials say

A school shooting in the southern Philippines on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of two students, including the perpetrator, according to officials. This marks the second such incident in the country in less than two months. The shooting occurred at a high school attached to the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga city, where the gunman brought a pistol and a rifle onto campus and opened fire during a classroom.

The gunman, a ninth-grade student, subsequently took his own life. The victim was a male student from a grade above him, as reported by the police. The university president, Ernald Andal, confirmed that the active shooting had ended and that there were no additional fatalities or injuries. Andal stated that the university was committed to prioritizing the safety of all its students.

This incident follows a similar attack in June at a public high school in Tacloban City, where at least three students were killed and around 20 others were injured when two of their schoolmates opened fire. School shootings are an extremely rare occurrence in the Philippines, which enforces relatively strict gun ownership regulations, including mandatory background checks and psychological evaluations.

Despite these measures, illegal firearms continue to circulate. Footage from the scene showed students and parents gathering outside the school gates, with uniformed police and soldiers on hand. Crime scene investigators were also present at the scene. The school, a five-story building on an 8-hectare site, houses the university's elementary and junior high school students.

The shooting took place less than a week after a high-profile incident in Thailand, where a student carried out a shooting spree at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok's capital.