3 killed, 5 injured in school shooting in central Philippines

MANILA: Three people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting at a high school in the central Philippines on Monday, police said, in what authorities described as a rare school shooting in the country.

The attack took place at about 9am at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, in Leyte province. Police said they had not yet determined a motive for the shooting. In a statement, regional police said the wounded were taken to nearby medical facilities for treatment.

Government broadcaster PTV reported that two suspects, both said to be students, were arrested after the shooting, with one detained at the scene. Presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro told reporters that the police had already apprehended those involved.

“The PNP has already caught the suspects. They acted quickly", the statement read.

School shootings are uncommon in the Philippines, although gun attacks linked to local political rivalries have occurred in provincial areas. In 2022, three people, including a former city mayor, were killed in a shooting before a graduation ceremony at Ateneo de Manila University in the capital. Authorities later said that attack was an assassination motivated by personal reasons. Firearm ownership is strictly regulated in the Philippines, but an illicit market for guns remains in place.