On this picture taken from a video, college students react after a taking pictures incident on the San Jose Nationwide Excessive Faculty in Tacloban metropolis, Philippines Monday, June 22, 2026. (James Daantos by way of AP Photograph)
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James Daantos/AP
MANILA, Philippines — Two college students armed with hand weapons opened hearth in a highschool within the central Philippines on Monday, killing three fellow college students and wounding one other seven, police stated.
The suspects, aged 14 and 15, had been arrested. The suspects and the victims had been college students of the San Jose Nationwide Excessive Faculty in Tacloban metropolis, the place the mid-morning taking pictures occurred, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy stated.
An investigation was underway to find out the reason for the taking pictures within the government-run faculty, which has greater than 1,500 college students. Capoy stated that the suspects, who had been shut pals, stated in preliminary questioning that they had been bullied in class. He didn’t elaborate.
They haven’t any prison information. One of many suspects acquired the 9 mm pistol he used within the assault from an aunt, a police officer, who was now being investigated. The opposite suspect used a cal. 38 revolver. They managed to convey the weapons onto the campus as a result of there was just one guard on responsibility at a number of entrances and exits, Capoy stated.
“The suspects barged into two rooms because after the shooting in the first, the children scampered and the suspects apparently ran after some victims into another room,” Capoy instructed reporters.
A lot of the useless and wounded had been feminine college students, he stated. Police recovered at the very least 40 shell casings on the scene of the assault.
In a video posted on-line, college students hiding below desks in a shut classroom may be heard screaming and weeping as gunshots are heard outdoors. Some known as their moms. Different movies present visibly terrified college students streaming out of the varsity campus, some holding and embracing one another.
One of many suspects was arrested within the faculty after the assault however the second fled and hid in a home close by. He was discovered by police who had been alerted by residents, police stated.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered an intensive investigation of the taking pictures and requested legislation enforcers to spice up safety in all faculties, workplaces and public areas, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stated.
“The president was saddened by this incident. Anybody, especially the parents of the victims, will feel sad and terrified,” Castro stated.
The suspects had been to be turned over to authorities welfare officers after the investigation since they’re minors. The 14-year-old can be exempt from prison prosecution below a 2006 Philippine legislation, which units the minimal age of 15 for a minor to be criminally liable and provided that authorities decide {that a} suspect was clearly conscious of the crime that was dedicated and its repercussions.
The nationwide police have urged the general public to stay calm and cooperate with authorities by offering any info which will assist the continuing investigation.
Crimes involving the usage of firearms are prevalent within the Philippines, partly as a result of proliferation of unlicensed firearms, however faculty shootings are comparatively uncommon.
In 2022, a person armed with pistols opened hearth at an upscale college within the Manila metropolitan space forward of a commencement ceremony, killing a former Philippine city mayor with whom the suspect had a long-running feud, and two others within the brazen assault. The gunman was arrested.
