A ninth-grade student at Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Mindanao, Philippines, shot a classmate dead inside a classroom before climbing to the fifth floor and shooting himself. The attack, which occurred on August 18, 2026, was livestreamed on Facebook before the account was disabled.
Shooting Details and Immediate Aftermath
Regional police spokeswoman Shella Chang said the suspected shooter went directly to the classroom of his intended victim, fired, and then took his own life. According to France 24, Chang told AFP that two people died as a result of the shooting.
The ages of the shooter and the victim have not been released, though interior secretary Victor Remulla confirmed the suspect was in ninth grade. Remulla also confirmed the shooter livestreamed the attack on Facebook; the account was later disabled.
Footage circulated by local media showed a gun barrel moving along a school hallway in what resembled a first-person shooter video game perspective before being pointed into a classroom. Children in school uniforms were then seen screaming and running for an exit. The number of people injured in the incident was not immediately known.
Investigation and Official Response
The Philippine national police said they were working to determine the motive, confirm who owned the firearm used, and find out how it was brought onto the school campus, according to the interior ministry.
Father Guillrey Andal, president of Ateneo de Zamboanga, confirmed the two deaths and said the school was "deeply saddened" by what had occurred. Speaking to reporters outside the campus, he said authorities were working to identify the victims before contacting their families.
"We are in the process of working with the police for us to be able to identify them, so that we can communicate first with their loved ones," Andal said. He added that the school's security team had been planning a simulation exercise before the incident took place. "We understand the value to everyone -- our students, our personnel -- of safety."
Second School Shooting in Two Months
According to BBC News, the attack was the second of its kind in the Philippines within two months. In June, three teenage students were killed and 20 others wounded during a shooting at a school in the central Philippines. Following that attack, Ateneo de Zamboanga was among several schools nationwide that conducted active shooter drills.
School shootings remain uncommon in the Philippines. Although legal gun ownership is strictly regulated in the country, authorities acknowledge that a significant black market for firearms exists.
In a separate incident reported by Legit.ng, a 14-year-old student opened fire at a secondary school in Nonthaburi province, north of Bangkok, on Friday, August 7, 2026. The suspect allegedly killed his grandparents at home before storming the school with his grandfather's handgun. At least six people were fatally shot at the school, including three students and three teachers, with more than 20 others wounded.
