A rare school shooting in the central Philippines has left three students dead and seven others injured after two teenage suspects allegedly opened fire inside a public high school on Monday, authorities said.
The incident occurred at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte province, sending students and teachers scrambling for safety as gunshots rang out across the campus.
Police identified the suspected shooters as boys aged 15 and 14. According to Police Lieutenant Evalyn Diaz, the pair allegedly fired randomly inside the school before being taken into custody.
Witnesses described scenes of panic and fear as the attack unfolded.
Irvin Nogar, a 52-year-old social studies teacher, said he was conducting a class when he heard multiple gunshots.
“I saw a shooter walking towards our area, so I told the students to be calm and hide under their desks and I locked the door,” Nogar told AFP. “They were crying and in panic.”
Video footage verified by AFP and widely shared by local media showed students screaming and hiding inside classrooms while gunfire echoed through the school grounds.
Among those mourning the tragedy was Jennelyn Badoria, whose 15-year-old child was killed in the attack. She called for accountability from those responsible for allowing the firearms to fall into the hands of minors.
“I’m asking that the gun owners be charged because the guns wouldn’t have ended up in the children’s hands if it weren’t for them,” she said outside the school.
Investigators are exploring reports that bullying may have played a role in the shooting, although authorities say the motive has not yet been confirmed.
“We’re still getting the guns, checking where they got those, and how they were able to bring that inside the school,” Diaz said.
The two suspects remain in police custody and are being questioned in the presence of their parents because they are minors.
The seven injured students were rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Authorities have not yet released details on their conditions.
The Philippine Department of Education described the incident as a “high-alert situation” and said officials from the central, regional, and division offices were working closely with law enforcement and school authorities to secure the campus.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed sadness over the tragedy through presidential spokesperson Claire Castro.
“Anyone, especially the parents of the victims, would feel grief and fear,” Castro told reporters, adding that measures were being implemented to strengthen safety in schools and other public spaces.
The shooting has renewed concerns about bullying and youth violence in the Philippines. A 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that more than half of Filipino boys and 43 percent of girls reported being bullied at least a few times each month, significantly higher than the average among OECD countries.
While school shootings remain uncommon in the Philippines, the country has witnessed other violent incidents involving students. Last month, seven students were wounded in a knife attack at a school in Cavite province.
Legal gun ownership is strictly regulated in the Southeast Asian nation, but authorities continue to battle a thriving illegal firearms market. Investigators are now focused on determining how the weapons used in Monday’s attack were obtained and brought onto school grounds.
The tragedy has sparked calls for stronger school security measures and tighter controls on firearm access as the nation mourns the loss of young lives.
