Two suspects in custody after shooting at high school in Philippines kills 3 students

MANILA: Two people opened fire in a high school in the central Philippines on Monday (Jun 22), killing three teenage students and wounding another five, police officials said.

Two suspects have been taken into custody, police said, one of whom is a student at San Jose National High School, in the city of Tacloban in Leyte province, where the shooting happened, according to police. Both are male and were armed with pistols.

The two alleged shooters, aged 15 and 14, had fired "randomly" inside the school, police Lieutenant Evalyn Diaz told AFP of the incident, which took place at around 9am.

A video widely circulated by local media, verified by AFP, showed panicked children screaming and crying while hiding inside a classroom amid the sound of gunfire.

"We are hearing bullying was the motive behind their actions, but we have yet to ask them," she said of the ongoing questioning of the boys arrested in the shooting's aftermath.

"We're still getting the guns, checking where they got those and how they were able to bring that inside the school," the police information officer said.

"We also have yet to establish the sequence of events," she added. "They are still in the police station undergoing questioning in the presence of their parents because they are minors."

Tacloban police chief Noelito Getigan told reporters that the suspects used a .38-caliber and 9mm firearm in the shooting.

One suspect, a minor and Grade 9 student, was arrested shortly after the incident, while the other later surrendered to authorities, Getigan said.

There was no immediate update on the status of the five wounded students.

"The victims were immediately transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment and appropriate medical intervention," regional police said earlier.

The Philippine Department of Education issued a statement calling it a "high-alert situation".

"Our Central Office officials, alongside regional and division office personnel, are active on the ground, coordinating closely with school authorities and law enforcement to secure the premises," it said.

The government-run school has more than 1,500 students.

"We urge the public to remain calm, refrain from disseminating unverified information and cooperate with authorities by providing any information that may aid the ongoing investigation," the national police said in a statement.

Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of unlicensed firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.

In July 2022, a gunman opened fire at an Ateneo de Manila University law school graduation ceremony in Quezon City, killing three people, including former Lamitan City mayor Rose Furigay.