Trigger warning: This article contains references to violence, suicide, and weapons.

MANILA, Philippines – At least three children were killed, and eight others were wounded, after a minor opened fire at Banga National High School in Banga, South Cotabato, on Friday, September 18.

South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. said, quoting the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, the dead included a boy and a girl, as well as the alleged perpetrator.

In an interview with DZBB, Banga Mayor Albert Palencia said the two victims were aged 14, while the alleged perpetrator was a 16-year-old Grade 9 student. (Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said two girls were killed in the shooting. This has been corrected.)

Palencia said the incident happened past 1 pm. The minor tagged in the shooting allegedly warned his classmates that “he will be doing something” after their lunch break.

The student fired randomly outside his classroom before shooting himself, according to Palencia.

Students were sent home after the gun attack. The police investigation is still ongoing.

Updated figures provided by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla in a press conference on Saturday, September 19, raised the number of injured to eight, up from the initial six provided by Tamayo. Two are said to be in serious condition, according to Remulla.

In a statement, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it was deeply concerned by the shooting incident, adding that its immediate priority was the safety and well-being of students, teachers, and school personnel.

Both the DepEd and the Department of Social Welfare and Development said they will provide psychological first aid and mental health and psychosocial support to the victims and their families.

Father’s gun

According to local officials, the gun used by the student was supposedly owned by his father, and the student allegedly destroyed the vault where the firearm was stored.

“Ako’y nananawagan sa mga magulang: Sana ‘wag ‘nyong hayaan na open sa mata at access ng bata ‘yong mga baril na meron kayo. Dapat maging responsable kayo dahil may mga pananagutan ang mga magulang dito,” Tamayo said.

(I’m appealing to the parents: Don’t let your guns be visible to and be openly accessed by children. Be responsible because parents have liabilities in these incidents.)

The DepEd confirmed on Saturday that the alleged perpetrator’s father was the DepEd Soccsksargen’s disaster risk reduction and management focal person.

Asked what the DepEd would do with its employee, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said in a chance interview: “Nirerespeto namin ‘yung jurisdiction ng PNP (Philippine National Police) dito sa criminal aspect. Inaantay lang namin ‘yung findings ng PNP.”

(We respect the jurisdiction of the PNP on the criminal aspect. We’re waiting for the findings of the PNP.)

“We will ensure he has no participation in any investigation related to the shooting,” Angara also told Rappler in a text message.

Remulla confirmed that the father had three licensed firearms that the shooter was able to access because the father allegedly failed to adequately secure them.

The gun owner, for safekeeping failures, can only be charged with reckless imprudence under current Philippine law. Remulla called for Congress to hold the father as equally liable as the shooter. 

Following the tragedy, lawmakers from the Akbayan party-list group urged their colleagues to pass the child safety against gun violence bill to strengthen school safety, regulate firearm access and use, and establish liability mechanisms for gun owners.

Links to online influences

Meanwhile, Tamayo said they learned from the minor’s friend that he was supposedly a member of an online “true crime” community. The governor said this was among the angles the police are checking.

Authorities previously said the “True Crime Community” is where violent content is shared and discussed online.

It was among the interconnected online subcultures linked to nihilistic violent extremism, which glorifies violence without a coherent ideological framework.

According to Remulla, the perpetrator was heavily immersed in the “deep, dark web,” which eventually influenced him to commit the crime. He also attributed the incident to the shooter’s heavy social media usage.

The deep web is a part of the internet comprised of pages not indexed by traditional search engines like Google, but is still accessible through ordinary browsers. The dark web is generally a more hidden part of the internet accessible through means such as specialized browsers and other software.

“The bigger issue is the use of internet of children. Nakikita natin dito na kung unsupervised ay sa’n-sa’n sila pumupunta at naiimpluwensiyahan ang mga bata,” Remulla said.

(The bigger issue is the use of internet of children. We see that if they’re unsupervised, they go to many corners [of the internet] where they may be influenced.)

Remulla plans to meet with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to “put an end” to unsupervised internet usage. He also plans to go to Congress to suggest limiting Filipino children’s social media access — a path Australia has already taken.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) of the DICT said on Friday that through coordination with Meta, they were able to take down videos pertaining to the incident, and block accounts spreading related material on Meta’s social media platforms.

The CICC said it continues to monitor any new activities or content linked to the incident, and asked the public to stop spreading or sharing them.

In June, three students were killed after their two schoolmates opened fire at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City. 

In August, two students died in a shooting incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s junior high school campus in Zamboanga City, including the alleged shooter himself. 

Two weeks ago, the DepEd rolled out its “trauma-informed” school safety drills to prepare students for on-campus threats. – with reports from Juno Reyes/Rappler.com

The Department of Health has national crisis hotlines to assist people with mental health concerns: 1553 or 0919-057-1553. You can also access free online psychosocial support via www.ncmhusaptayo.com.