Three pupils were killed in a school shooting on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao on Friday, including the 16-year-old suspected gunman who turned the weapon on himself.
Eight people were injured, with four in critical condition. The victims were all pupils at the school, aged 14 to 17, said Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place.
“The suspect supposedly sat beside his friends and told them to go home 'because after lunch, I will be executing my plan',” Mr Palencia told Reuters. “His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker. After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself.”
South Cotabato governor Reynaldo Tamayo urged parents to ensure guns are kept out of reach of their children.
“We need to be responsible in storing firearms,” he said. “Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them.
“We cannot expect a handful of security personnel to monitor thousands of students. We need to work together because otherwise this will be very difficult for us to address.”
Last month, a pupil live-streamed himself shooting and killing another pupil in a classroom in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines before taking his own life.
In June, at least three pupils were killed and 20 injured in an attack at a public high school in Tacloban in the eastern Philippines, where two classmates opened fire on campus.
The Philippines has relatively strict gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluation requirements, although illegal firearms remain in circulation.
