School Shooter Live-Streams Attack in Philippines 

A student opened fire on his school in the Philippines, killing one student before taking his own life. Using a body-worn camera, the gunman also live-streamed the attack, which occurred on the morning of 18 August.

The shooter brought a pistol and rifle to the privately run Catholic junior high school Ateneo de Zamboanga University, located in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. The junior high school sits separate from the university’s main campus. Police identified the gunman as Mohammad Mael Jalani, a male student in grade 9, according to the Associated Press (AP).

“Zamboanga Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso told DZBB radio that authorities confirmed the gunman live-streamed the attack through a body-worn camera,” Reuters reported.

The shooter opened fire on at least two classrooms, according to Reuters, which verified the live-stream video of the incident.

Olaso added that the shooter opened fire on a teacher in one of the classrooms but missed. He then moved up to the fourth floor and into another classroom, where he shot a student who later died, according to the BBC.

The victim was a male student in grade 10, according to authorities. His identity has not yet been made public. Two other people were wounded in the attack, and there are reports that other students sustained injuries while trying to flee from the shooting.

After the gunman finished firing on the second classroom, he went up to the fifth floor and killed himself by jumping from the building, the AP reported.

According to a customs official, the assailant used a pistol that had previously been issued by the Customs Bureau to the shooter’s father, as well as a licensed personal firearm that was also owned by the father. The father is a customs official who has been relieved from his post, according to Reuters. The Customs Bureau is investigating how the gunman was able to access the firearms, The Guardian reported.

The shooter’s motive remains unclear. National police are also investigating the incident, trying to determine the motive and how the firearms were brought into the school, the Guardian added.

The university’s president, Rev. Guillrey Anthony Andal, said that classes for all schools on campus were suspended for the rest of Tuesday, as well as for Wednesday, according to The New York Times.

“School shootings are rare in ⁠the Philippines, ​which has relatively strict gun ownership regulations, including background checks and psychological evaluation requirements, ​although illegal firearms remain in circulation,” Reuters reported.

In June, two teenage students carried out a shooting at their public high school in Tacloban City, resulting in at least three student deaths. The motive in the earlier shooting appeared to have been over a grudge related to bullying, according to the Times.

An investigation also revealed that the two shooters often played a violent online game, which prompted the Filipino Senate to investigate the impact of violent computer games on young people.

While speaking to reporters on 18 August, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that investigators will also be examining Jalani’s gaming and chat history, according to the AP.