Shooting at Banga High School Leaves Two Dead and Eight Injured

On September 18, a 16-year-old student opened fire at a public high school in Banga, South Cotabato. Provincial officials said the gunman killed at least two classmates and then turned the weapon on himself. Eight other students were wounded, four of them in critical condition. The suspect used a 9-mm pistol that belonged to his father, a Department of Education employee, after breaking into a secured vault to retrieve it. He carried two magazines, reloading once before ending the attack.

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The Banga shooting follows two fatal school shootings earlier in the year. In June, a gun-fire incident at a high school in Tacloban left three students dead and about 20 injured. In July, a student in Zamboanga live-streamed a classroom shooting that also ended in suicide. These events have sparked renewed debate over children’s access to social media, online “true crime” communities, and the circulation of illegal firearms despite the Philippines’ relatively strict gun-ownership laws, which require background checks and psychological evaluations.

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He added that relying on school security personnel alone is insufficient and called for collective responsibility. Local authorities are also investigating the suspect’s activity in an online “true crime” community to determine whether extremist content influenced the attack.

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• Victims: 2 fatalities, 8 injuries (4 critical)

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• Age range of victims: 14-17 years

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• Weapon: 9-mm pistol, father’s Department of Education-issued firearm

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• Magazines used: 2, with one reload before the shooter’s suicide

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• “The suspect supposedly sat beside his friends and told them to go home 'because after lunch, I will be executing my plan'. His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker,” — Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place

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• “After lunch, he started shooting students. He hit 10 students before killing himself,” — Albert Palencia, mayor of Banga town in South Cotabato, where the shooting took place

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• “We need to be responsible in storing firearms. Gun owners, in particular, must make sure that minors do not have access to them,” — Reynaldo Tamayo, south cotabato governor

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