Two students killed in Philippines school shooting including gunman

Two students have been killed in a shooting at a high school in Zamboanga City, southern Philippines, with police identifying one of the dead as the suspected gunman.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at a school affiliated with the privately run Ateneo de Zamboanga University, marking the second deadly school shooting in the Philippines in less than two months.

Police said the suspected attacker, a Grade 9 student, brought both a pistol and a rifle onto the school campus before opening fire inside a classroom. He subsequently died by suicide.

The other fatality was identified as a Grade 10 male student. Two additional students were wounded.

Students fled as gunfire erupted

Video broadcast by GMA News, with graphic images blurred, showed students scrambling for cover inside a classroom as multiple gunshots rang out.

Outside the school, students and anxious parents gathered near the gates while armed police and soldiers secured the area. Crime-scene investigators were also deployed.

Authorities said the situation had been brought under control.

The school is located on an approximately 8-hectare campus and accommodates grade-school and junior-high students, according to information on the institution's website.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr directed law-enforcement agencies to investigate the shooting and determine measures that could prevent similar attacks at schools.

“Our schools are where we entrust our children to learn, to grow and to dream about the lives ahead of them. They must also be among the safest places in our country,” Marcos said.

The shooting has renewed concerns about school safety in a country where such attacks remain relatively uncommon.

Second deadly school shooting in weeks

The Zamboanga incident comes less than two months after a separate shooting at a public high school in Tacloban City in June.

At least three students were killed and about 20 others injured after two schoolmates allegedly opened fire on the campus.

The Philippines has comparatively strict firearm regulations, including background checks and psychological assessments for legal gun ownership. However, authorities continue to grapple with the circulation of illegal firearms.

The latest attack also comes less than 10 days after a high-profile school shooting in Thailand, where a student reportedly went on a shooting rampage at a school outside Bangkok.

With another Philippine school now the scene of deadly violence, authorities face renewed pressure to examine how firearms are reaching students and whether existing school-security measures are sufficient to protect children.