Student shooter kills classmate and himself at a Philippine school,
mayor says
[August 18, 2026]
By JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A high school student carrying two firearms
shot to death a fellow student before killing himself Tuesday in a high
school in a university campus in the southern Philippines where hundreds
of students were evacuated to safety, officials said.
Zamboanga city Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said the suspect apparently wore
a body camera to livestream the attack at the high school on the Ateneo
de Zamboanga university campus in his city. Two other people were
injured, he said.
The suspect initially fired at a teacher but it was not clear if the
teacher was hit. He then shot a fellow student, who died, before
shooting himself, Olaso told DZBB radio network.
Hundreds of students were evacuated to safety after the gunshots rang
out in the high school building, which is in a secured campus, separate
from a larger campus of the Catholic university, where its colleges and
professional schools are located in the port city of Zamboanga.
A few hours after the shooting, police said the situation was under
control. They asked parents and guardians of students to remain calm and
follow the high school's advice and arrangements to pick up their
children.
“Authorities are currently establishing the circumstances surrounding
the incident,” national police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.
said. The police “will provide verified information as appropriate and
appeals to the public to refrain from sharing unconfirmed reports,
photos, or videos that may cause unnecessary concern.”
The national police “assure the public that the safety and well-being of
the school community remain a priority. We thank the school
administration, parents, guardians, and the community for their
patience, cooperation and understanding as authorities continue to
manage the situation,” Nartatez said.
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A guard secures an area at the junior high school building on the
Ateneo de Zamboanga University campus following a shooting incident
in Zamboanga, southern Philippines Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP
Photo)
The shooting happened despite police assurances that security in
schools across the country would be strengthened after a shooting in
June in which three high school students were killed and at least 20
others were wounded in central Tacloban city. Police arrested two
students, ages 14 and 15, accused of carrying out that shooting.
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.
The shooting in the Philippines also occurred less than two weeks
after a school shooting in Thailand.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul took steps to restrict
guns in the Southeast Asian country after a 14-year-old boy killed
his grandparents, five school staff members and a 12-year-old girl
in Nonthaburi province outside Bangkok.
Thailand’s high rate of gun ownership is second only to Pakistan in
Asia, and far surpasses its Southeast Asian neighbors.
___
Associated Press journalist Jintamas Sasornchai in Bangkok
contributed to this report.
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