AT least three students were killed while eight were wounded, during another shooting incident at a public high school in South Cotabato on Friday.
The fatalities included the alleged gunman, a 16-year-old boy, who also reportedly shot himself and two more — a boy and girl both aged 14. Of those wounded, four are said to be in cricital condition and they are all aged between 14 and 17.
The Philippine National Police said that the shooting took place at the Banga National High School. The school premises had been secured and classes are suspended until further notice.
Banga Mayor Albert Palencia told a radio interview that after lunch, the shooter, aged 16, told his friends to go home because he was planning to do something and did not want them to get involved, but that he was not taken seriously.
The shooter reportedly went into the classroom beside his and just fired, hitting ten students inside. Two died instantly while the remaining eight were founded.
Initial investigation showed that the suspect did not have any specific target and authorities are looking into his being a member of an online group called, “true crimes community.”
Last month, a student also went into a shooting spree in a school in Zamboanga and then also took his own life by turning the gun on himself.
In June, three students were killed and about 20 others injured in a similar incident in a public high school in Tacloban, when two of its students shot their classmates. It was the first of a series of similar incidents taking place one after another.
