Two students have been killed in a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, with the gunman identified as one of the deceased.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, August 18, at a school attached to the privately run Ateneo de Zamboanga University, where a Grade 9 student reportedly brought a pistol and a rifle onto the campus and opened fire inside a classroom.
Police said the suspected gunman killed himself after shooting a male student who was one grade above him.
University President Ernald Andal confirmed that the situation was under control, with no active threat remaining and no other fatalities or injuries reported.
“We do not want any of these things to happen. We wish to prioritise the safety of all our students,” Mr Andal said.
Armed police and soldiers were deployed around the school as crime scene investigators arrived. Local television footage showed students and parents gathered outside the school gates following the incident.
The shooting comes less than two months after a separate attack at a public high school in Tacloban City, where two students opened fire in June, killing at least three students and injuring about 20 others.
School shootings are relatively rare in the Philippines, which maintains restrictions on civilian gun ownership, including background checks and psychological assessments. However, authorities continue to grapple with the circulation of illegal firearms.
The school is housed in a five-storey building on an eight-hectare campus serving grade school and junior high school students, according to the university’s website.
The latest incident also comes less than 10 days after a high-profile school shooting in Thailand, where a student went on a shooting rampage at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.
