Three killed, eight injured in Philippine school shooting

Three people, including a 16-year-old student suspected of carrying out the attack, have been killed and eight others injured in a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines, officials said.

The shooting happened on Friday at Banga National High School in the town of Banga, South Cotabato province, on the island of Mindanao.

Two of those killed were 14-year-old students, while the suspected gunman, a Grade 9 student, also died after turning the weapon on himself, according to Banga Mayor Albert Palencia and provincial officials.

All the victims were students aged between 14 and 17.

Four of the eight injured were reported to be in critical condition.

Palencia said the teenager had told several friends during lunch to go home because he planned to carry out an attack after the break.

His friends reportedly did not take the warning seriously because he was known for joking.

After lunch, the student opened fire on classmates, hitting 10 students before reloading his weapon and taking his own life, Palencia told Reuters and other media.

Police secured the school and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Classes were suspended across Banga as authorities responded to the incident.

The Department of Education said its immediate priority was the safety and wellbeing of students, teachers and other school personnel.

Authorities are also examining reports that the teenager was involved in an online community focused on true crime and violent incidents.

South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo has asked the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the police anti-cybercrime unit to investigate whether the online group had any connection to the shooting.

Tamayo stressed that authorities had not established such a link and urged the public not to draw conclusions while the investigation continues.

The weapon reportedly used in the attack was a 9mm pistol belonging to the teenager's father, according to officials cited by AP.

The father, a Department of Education employee, had reportedly kept the firearm in a secured vault, which investigators say the teenager accessed.

Following the shooting, Tamayo urged gun owners to take greater responsibility for storing firearms and ensuring that children cannot access them.

The incident is the third deadly school shooting reported in the Philippines since June.

In June, at least three students were killed and about 20 injured in a shooting at a public high school in Tacloban.

Last month, a student in Zamboanga City shot and killed another student before taking his own life.

School shootings had previously been relatively rare in the Philippines, but the recent incidents have renewed concerns over firearm access, school security and the safety of students.

Authorities continue to investigate the Banga shooting, including the possible motive and the circumstances under which the teenager obtained the firearm.