South Cotabato school shooter used DepEd employee father’s gun

MANILA, Philippines — A Grade 9 student who opened fire at Banga National High School in South Cotabato used his father’s firearm, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

In a press briefing on Saturday, September 19, Remulla said the student’s father is a disaster risk mitigation officer of the Department of Education (DepEd).

The student accessed the firearm after opening a vault where his father kept three licensed guns.

“Mayroon siyang tatlong licensed firearms na hindi secured enough na nabuksan ng bata at kinuha 'yung baril,” Remulla said.

The DILG chief said the shooting happened at around 1 p.m. Friday, September 18.

Three people were killed in the incident, including the shooter, while eight others were injured. Two of those killed were students, according to Remulla.

One of the injured students remained in critical condition in an intensive care unit as of Saturday morning, according to a municipal disaster risk reduction official.

Authorities have previously said the student allegedly warned his classmates before the attack. He reportedly told them to go home after lunch because he would do something that could put them in danger, but his classmates thought he was joking.

The student later left his classroom and opened fire in an adjacent classroom before turning the gun on himself.

Remulla said the incident was the third case in which an improperly secured firearm was used.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, September 18, expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the shooting.

“Muli tayong nahaharap sa isang trahedyang hindi dapat danasin ng sinumang magulang, paaralan, o komunidad,” Marcos said in a Facebook post.

(We are once again faced with a tragedy that no parent, school, or community should ever have to experience.)

He said the government would ensure that those injured receive the necessary treatment and assistance.

Marcos also said he had ordered government agencies to strengthen security in schools following previous shooting incidents in Tacloban and Zamboanga.

“Ito na ang ikatlong nakamamatay na pamamaril sa paaralan sa loob lamang ng tatlong buwan,” he said.

(This is now the third deadly school shooting in just three months.)

The president said he had ordered the Department of Education, DILG and Philippine National Police to report on the measures they had implemented following the previous incidents.

He also ordered an investigation into the shooting, including how the minor was able to obtain a firearm and bring it inside the school.

“Hindi natin maaaring tanggapin na maging bahagi na lamang ng buhay ng ating mga anak ang mga pamamaril sa paaralan,” the president said. 

(We cannot accept school shootings becoming just another part of our children’s lives.)

The Department of Education condemned the shooting and said its officials were on site to assist the victims and coordinate with local authorities and law enforcement in the investigation.

The Learners TeleSafe Contact Center Helpline may be reached through #33733 (#DEPED), 0945-175-9777, email [email protected] and Viber.

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