He entered the school and opened fire on the students, killing two and wounding eight others, before taking his own life. The episode occurred this morning, Friday 18 September, inside the National High School in Banga, in the southern province of Mindanao, in the Philippines.
The school shooting
According to initial information reported by local media, the perpetrator of the attack was a 16-year-old boy, while the other two victims were two other 14-year-old pupils. Of the eight students injured, at least four are said to be in critical condition. The news was also confirmed by the governor of the province of South Cotabato, Reynaldo Tamayo: “We never thought something like this could happen.”
This is the third fatal school shooting in the Philippines since June this year. Videos released on social networks show panic among young people, who rush to leave after the shooting. One of the videos also shows the inside of one of the classrooms in which the 16-year-old opened fire, where there are several traces of blood.
“He warned his friends”
According to what the mayor, Albert Palencia, reported to the Reuters agency, the young man would have warned some pupils of his intentions: “The suspect would have sat next to his friends and would have told them to go home because, after lunch, he would put his plan into action. The friends, however, would not have taken him seriously, because the attacker was known for being a joker”. After lunch, the 16-year-old stuck to what he said and started shooting, before taking his own life.