2 students killed in southern Philippines school shooting, including gunman

[MANILA] Two people were killed in a shooting at a high school in the southern Philippines on Tuesday (Aug 18) and the situation was now under control, officials said, in the second such incident in the country in nearly two months.

The shooting took place at a school attached to the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the southern city of Zamboanga. The city’s mayor Khymer Adan Olaso told DZMM radio both casualties were students and one was the shooter, who used a “high-powered firearm”.

The university’s president Ernald Andal confirmed there was no longer an active shooting and there were no additional fatalities or reported injuries.

“As of now, we confirm that there are two fatalities,” Andal said. “There are no more active shooters.”

Andal said the university was coordinating with authorities and would provide more details as information became available.

“We do not want any of these things to happen. We wish to prioritise the safety of all our students,” he said.

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It followed an attack at a public high school in June in Tacloban City in which at least three students were killed and about 20 others injured after two of their schoolmates opened fire on campus.

The 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. REUTERS