A gunman opened fire at a high school in Banga, in the southern Philippines’ Mindanao province, killing three people and wounding eight others. Banga mayor Albert Palencia said two of the dead were 14-year-old students; the 16-year-old gunman also died. Four of the injured are in critical condition. The attack took place at Banga National High School after noon on Friday. In a statement, the Philippines’ education department said it was “deeply concerned” by the incident, which marks the third deadly attack at a Philippine educational institution since June this year.
The education ministry said: “Our top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of students, teachers and school staff.” It said it was maintaining round-the-clock contact with school administrators to learn more details and provide necessary support, and urged the public to stay calm while the investigation continues and to avoid spreading unverified information.
Mayor Palencia told the news agency Reuters that during lunchtime, the attacking teenager had told friends to go home, saying: “Right after lunch, I’ll carry out my plan.” “His friends laughed at what he said, because he was always joking around with everyone,” the mayor said. “As soon as he finished eating, he began firing indiscriminately at students. After shooting at least 10 students, he killed himself.”
Classes were suspended at all educational institutions across Banga municipality following the attack, the local disaster management authority said in a statement. The Philippine Red Cross said it received word of the incident at 2pm local time and immediately dispatched an ambulance with four paramedics for emergency medical support. Police reached the scene and began an investigation, local media reported.
Gun-related crime is fairly common in the Philippines, which ranks among the top countries in the region for private firearm ownership, though such shootings at schools are less frequently seen. Even so, this marks the third deadly attack on a school campus in the past four months. In June, three students were killed and several others injured when classmates opened fire at a high school in the central Philippines, an attack investigators believe stemmed from anger over bullying. In August, a student at a Catholic junior high school in the southern Philippines was shot dead by a classmate, who then killed himself; the attacker had first fired at a teacher but missed before shooting the student, who later died from his injuries.