At least eight people were also wounded in the country’s third fatal school shooting since June. Published September 18, 2026 September 18, 2026 At least three people, including a 16-year-old suspected gunman, were killed and several injured in a school shooting in the Philippines. The attack was reported on Friday in the town of Banga in South Cotabato, in the southern Philippines. It is the third fatal school shooting in the country since June. A disaster agency worker said two of the dead were students, adding that several others were being treated at the hospital. Four of the eight injured were in critical condition and all the victims were students between 14 and 17 years old. The alleged gunman reportedly shot himself after the attack, South Cotabato provincial governor Reynaldo Tamayo said. The city’s mayor, Albert Palencia, later reported that the attacker had died, according to the Reuters news agency. However, it was not immediately clear how many attackers were involved. In a video circulating on social media, a teacher was heard saying that there were two attackers. Gun control “For now, we are trying to let our fellow citizens know that the situation is stable and that the case is contained,” Tamayo said. “We never thought this would happen.” The suspect allegedly sat next to his friends and told them to go home “because after lunch I will execute my plan.” His friends laughed because the shooter was a known prankster,” Palencia said. “After lunch, he started shooting at the students. He beat 10 students before committing suicide,” Palencia added. The attack is the third school shooting to take place in the country in recent months. In August, a student livestreamed himself killing another student and then taking his own life in a classroom in Zamboanga, also in the south of the Southeast Asian archipelago country. Three students were killed and 20 others were injured in an attack in June at a public high school in Tacloban, central Philippines. after two students opened fire. It was carried out in an effort to strengthen school security, but Tamayo urged parents to keep guns out of the hands of minors, saying that security personnel are not enough. “We need to be responsible in the storage of firearms,” the mayor said. country. However, many illegal firearms remain in circulation.
