Philippine student live-streamed fatal school shooting before taking own life: Official
The student shot and killed another student and injured two others before taking his own life.
General view of Ateneo de Zamboanga University after a shooting that killed two people, in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, on Aug 18, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Nonoy Lacson)
MANILA: A student live-streamed himself shooting and killing another student in a classroom in the southern Philippines on Tuesday (Aug 18) before taking his own life, an official said, in the second school attack in the country in less than two months.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered law enforcement agencies to investigate and to determine measures to be taken to prevent violence in schools.
"Our schools are where we entrust our children to learn, to grow and to dream about the lives ahead of them. They must also be among the safest places in our country," Marcos said in a statement.
The shooting took place at a school attached to the privately-run Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the city of Zamboanga, where the gunman brought a pistol and a rifle onto the school campus and fired at students inside the classroom, according to a preliminary police report.
"What we know so far is that (the shooter) went to the classroom of our known victim. He shot the victim, and after doing that, he went up to the fifth floor and shot himself," regional police spokeswoman Shella Chang told AFP.
Zamboanga Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso told DZBB radio that authorities confirmed the gunman live-streamed the attack through a body-worn camera.
Reuters verified a live-stream video of the shooter in the school. The video shows him entering one classroom and opening fire. He then changed weapons, entered the second classroom and fired more rounds. A student is seen lying on the ground in unclear condition.
The alleged shooter's Facebook account has since been disabled.
The motive was not immediately clear, but a senior customs official told reporters that the shooter used a .40-caliber pistol issued by the Bureau of Customs to the student's father, a customs official who has since been relieved from his post.
A second weapon recovered from the scene was a licensed personal firearm also owned by the shooter's father, the official said.
Video aired by GMA News, with images blurred, showed chaotic scenes inside a classroom with students ducking for cover as several gunshots rang out.
The victim was a male Grade 10 student, police said. The gunman, a Grade 9 student, killed himself, police said.
Two others were wounded.
The victim was found on the fourth floor of the school, while the gunman was later found dead on the fifth floor after taking his own life, city councillor Frederick Atilano said, citing police information.
"In the video, we see that he first shot at the teacher who was sitting at a table," the city's mayor Khymer Adan Olaso told DZMM radio, referencing a screen-grabbed video being circulated by local media.
"It seems he missed, then moved to another room ... he shot another student there, the one who fell.
"It seems two others were also injured, probably before he killed himself."
The university's president Ernald Andal confirmed there was no longer an active shooting and there were no more fatalities or reported injuries.
"As of now, we confirm that there are two fatalities," Andal said. "There are no more active shooters."
The school separately confirmed there had been two fatalities.
"The safety of our students is our top priority," it said in a statement.
"We have already coordinated with parents and guardians to pick up their children and the university has ensured the safety of those remaining on campus."
The school is a five-storey building on an 8ha site that houses the university's grade school and junior high school students, its website stated.
Social media footage verified by Reuters showed students from the school running out of the campus building while at least four gunshots were heard in the background.
News channel ANC showed footage of students and parents gathering outside the school gates with some armed police and soldiers present. Crime scene investigators are seen arriving at the school.
School shootings are rare in the Philippines, and Ateneo de Zamboanga had conducted an active shooter drill only last month.
In June, there was an attack at a public high school in Tacloban City where at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured after two of their schoolmates opened fire on campus.
Legal gun ownership is tightly regulated in the Southeast Asian country, but a large black market exists for firearms.
This latest shooting came less than 10 days after a high-profile incident in Thailand, where a student went on a shooting rampage at a school on the outskirts of the capital Bangkok.
