MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Two young students opened fire in a high school in the central Philippines on Monday, killing three fellow students and wounding another seven, police said.
The suspects, aged 14 and 15, were armed with one pistol each. They were arrested. The suspects and the victims were students of the San Jose National High School in Tacloban city, where the mid-morning shooting happened, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said.
An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the shooting in the government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students. Capoy said that the suspects, who were close friends, said in initial questioning that they were bullied in school. He did not elaborate.
They have no criminal records and it’s not immediately clear where they got the pistols used in the attack. They managed to bring the guns into the campus because there was only one guard on duty at multiple entrances and exits, Capoy said.
“The suspects barged into two rooms because after the shooting in the first, the children scampered and the suspects apparently ran after some victims into another room,” Capoy told reporters.
Most of the dead and wounded were female students, he said.
One of the suspects was arrested in the school after the attack but the second fled and hid in a house nearby. He was found by police who were when alerted by residents, police said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a thorough investigation of the shooting and asked law enforcers to boost security in all schools, workplaces and public areas, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.
“The president was saddened by this incident. Anybody, especially the parents of the victims, will feel sad and terrified,” Castro said.
The national police have urged the public to remain calm and cooperate with authorities by providing any information that may aid the ongoing investigation.
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.
