Two students, including the suspected gunman, were killed and multiple others injured in a shooting at a high school attached to the privately run Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) High School in Zamboanga City, southern Philippines, on Tuesday, August 18.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla stated that the incident began at approximately 7:50 a.m. when a Grade 9 student entered Ateneo Zamboanga City High School armed with a pistol and a rifle. Police reported that the student opened fire on campus, killing a male Grade 10 student before dying by suicide.
Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said preliminary video evidence indicated the suspect initially targeted a teacher but apparently missed. The suspect then entered another room and shot a student with a .45-caliber pistol. Olaso added that two other people were injured, though the final injury count remained under verification.
Authorities are also investigating reports that the student wore a body camera and livestreamed parts of the attack on Facebook. The firearms had reportedly been concealed inside a bag. Separate reports linked one weapon to the Bureau of Customs, and the suspect’s father, identified as a customs enforcement official, was reportedly suspended pending investigation.
Olaso described the suspect as a “very bright student” and reportedly a “Roblox fanatic.” However, authorities have not established online gaming as a cause of the attack.
AdZU President Father Guillrey Anthony Andal stated that students were immediately evacuated. The incident occurred shortly after the university’s security team had conducted simulation exercises for similar emergencies.
Ateneo de Zamboanga University confirmed two fatalities and expressed its profound sadness over the incident.” Parents and guardians were contacted to collect their children, and all Grade School students were confirmed safe and accounted for. Father Anthony “Ernald” Andal also declared a day of mourning and prayer following the shooting.
PNP chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. announced that the situation was “now under control.” The Department of Education began coordinating psychological first aid and psychosocial support for affected students and personnel, urging the public not to spread unverified information or sensitive images involving minors.
This shooting comes less than two months after three students were killed at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on June 22, an incident that led to the arrest of two suspects aged 14 and 15.
