School shooting in Philippines has killed at three students and injured several others.
According to NBC News, provincial officials said that three students including the 16-year-old gunman suspect were killed in a shooting on Friday, September 18.
As per the authorities the suspected gunman died after turning the gun on himself.
Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato said eight others were injured, with four in critical condition, and all the victims were students aged 14 to 17.
The incident follows two fatal gun incidents since June at schools in the Philippines, where school shootings were previously rare.
Gunman asks friends to ‘go home’ before shooting
Palencia told Reuters, “The suspect supposedly sat beside his friends and told them to go home because after lunch, I will be executing my plan’. His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker.”
“After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself,” Palencia added.
Last month, a student live-streamed himself shooting and killing another student in a classroom in Zamboanga in the country’s south before taking his own life.
In June, at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured in an attack at a public high school in Tacloban, where two classmates opened fire on campus.
South Cotabato governor Reynaldo Tamayo urged parents to ensure guns were kept out of reach of minors.
Tamayo told Reuters, “We need to be responsible in storing firearms. Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them. We cannot expect a handful of security personnel to monitor thousands of students. We need to work together because otherwise this will be very difficult for us to address.”
The Philippines has relatively strict gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluation requirements, although illegal firearms remain in circulation.
