Filipino student livestreams school shooting, kills classmate, self

A ninth-grade student opened fire at the Ateneo de Zamboanga, a private Catholic school in the southern Philippines, killing a tenth-grade classmate and injuring several others before taking his own life. The attack, which occurred around 7:50 a.m. local time, was livestreamed on Facebook by the attacker using a body camera, showing him moving through hallways and firing into a classroom Source: Excelsior.

The attack

The attacker, aged 14–15, entered the school with "a rifle and a pistol," according to Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso Source: La Voz. Police said he shot a tenth-grade student and wounded at least three others, though local media ABS-CBN reported up to nine injured Source: Milenio. After the shooting, the attacker died after jumping from the fifth floor Source: La Voz. The video, which resembled a first-person shooter game, was viewed hundreds of times before Facebook removed it, but clips continued circulating on X Source: Excelsior.

Investigation and reaction

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a thorough investigation and called for enhanced school security Source: Milenio. The Bureau of Customs removed the attacker's father, a port commander and state-armed agent, from his post to ensure an impartial probe into whether one of the weapons belonged to him Source: Excelsior. The school suspended classes for two days Source: La Voz.

Context

This was the second school shooting in the Philippines in under two months, following a June attack in Tacloban that killed three students Source: CNN. The incident has reignited debate over social media access for minors and gun control, with some politicians proposing restrictions Source: La Voz.