Overview
- Local officials said a 16-year-old student opened fire at Banga National High School in South Cotabato on Friday, Sept. 18, then died by suicide, leaving three students dead and eight others wounded.
- Authorities say the shooter used a 9mm pistol taken from his father’s locked vault, carried two magazines and reloaded during the attack, and investigators are tracing the gun’s chain of custody.
- Police are examining the suspect’s online activity after reports he posted in a ‘true crime’ online community as investigators seek to determine whether that content influenced the attack.
- The Department of Education and local disaster offices have suspended classes in the municipality and deployed medical and mental‑health teams to care for survivors and students.
- This is the Philippines’ third deadly school shooting since June and has renewed calls from provincial leaders for secure gun storage, tighter oversight of firearms and stronger school safety measures.