ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Two junior high school students died, including the suspected gunman, after a student opened fire at Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Tuesday morning, prompting renewed calls to review security measures in Philippine schools.
Police said a Grade 9 student brought two 9mm pistols into the Jesuit-run university and shot a Grade 10 student inside a classroom on the fourth floor of the high school building at about 7:45 a.m.
The victim died at the scene. The shooter fled to another floor and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Maj. Shielamie Chang, spokesperson for the Zamboanga Peninsula regional police, said investigators recovered both firearms and spent shells from the campus. Police had not established a motive as of Tuesday.
Authorities are also investigating how the student brought the firearms into the campus without detection.
One of the guns belonged to the Bureau of Customs and had been issued to an employee in Zamboanga, officials said. Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno confirmed that the employee was the shooter’s father and said authorities relieved him from his post pending an investigation into possible negligence in handling and securing the firearm.
The second firearm was reportedly a personal weapon licensed to the father.
The shooting also left two people hospitalized. Zamboanga City disaster response officials said medical teams treated 21 students for panic attacks, anxiety and minor abrasions.
Ateneo de Zamboanga University President Fr. Guillrey Anthony Andal said the university was cooperating with authorities and had suspended classes Tuesday. The school declared Wednesday, Aug. 19, a Day of Mourning.
The incident renewed concerns over school security following a June shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City that killed three students and injured at least 20 others.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the government may need to review school security policies to include private schools. Current police monitoring guidelines cover security measures outside public schools.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the Department of Education was coordinating with mental health partners to provide psychological first aid and other psychosocial support to those affected.
