By Sunday Ameh
Two students have been killed in a rare shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines, with the suspected student gunman also dead, authorities said.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at a school attached to the privately run Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City, sending students, parents and staff into panic.
According to a preliminary police report, the Grade 9 student brought a pistol and a rifle onto the school campus before opening fire at students inside a classroom.
Police said the suspected shooter killed himself after the attack. The victim was identified as a male student in the grade above him.
The university’s president, Ernald Andal, confirmed that the situation had been brought under control, saying there was no longer an active shooting and that no additional deaths or injuries had been reported.
“We do not want any of these things to happen. We wish to prioritise the safety of all our students,” Andal said.
Following the incident, armed police and soldiers were deployed around the school as parents and students gathered outside the campus. Crime scene investigators were also seen arriving at the school to begin investigations.
The shooting has renewed concerns over school safety in the Philippines, coming less than two months after another deadly attack at a public high school in Tacloban City.
In that June incident, at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured after two students allegedly opened fire on the school campus.
School shootings are relatively uncommon in the Philippines, which has strict gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluation requirements. However, authorities continue to grapple with the circulation of illegal firearms.
The Zamboanga school is a five-storey facility located on an eight-hectare site and accommodates grade school and junior high school students.
The latest shooting also comes less than 10 days after a separate school shooting in Thailand, where a student reportedly went on a shooting rampage at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Authorities in Zamboanga are expected to investigate how the student obtained the firearms and determine the circumstances that led to the attack.
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