MANILA: Two people opened fire in a high school in the central Philippines on Monday (Jun 22), killing three students and wounding another five, police officials said.
Two suspects have been taken into custody, police said, one of whom is a student at San Jose National High School, in the city of Tacloban in Leyte province, where the shooting happened, according to police. Both are male and were armed with pistols.
The shooting occurred at about 9am inside the school in the city’s Barangay San Jose district.
The victims have been transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment.
Police investigators were still trying to determine what sparked the shooting in the government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students. Police also deployed forces to beef up security.
“We urge the public to remain calm, refrain from disseminating unverified information and cooperate with authorities by providing any information that may aid the ongoing investigation,” the national police said in a statement.
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.
In July 2022, a gunman opened fire at an Ateneo de Manila University law school graduation ceremony in Quezon City, killing three people, including former Lamitan City mayor Rose Furigay.
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