Philippines: Two students were killed in a shooting at a high school in the southern city of Zamboanga on Tuesday, including the suspected gunman, according to police and school officials.
The shooting occurred at a school affiliated with the privately run Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Police said a Grade 9 student brought a pistol and a rifle onto the campus and opened fire inside a classroom. The suspected gunman then died by suicide.
The other victim was a male Grade 10 student, police said. University President Ernald Andal confirmed that the shooting was over and that no further fatalities or injuries had been reported.
Authorities deployed armed police and soldiers to the school, while crime-scene investigators arrived at the campus. Local television footage showed students and parents gathering outside the school gates following the incident.
Shooting Follows Earlier School Attack in June
The Zamboanga shooting is the second deadly school shooting in the Philippines in less than two months. In June, at least three students were killed and around 20 others injured after two students opened fire at a public high school in Tacloban City.
School shootings are relatively rare in the Philippines, which has regulations governing civilian gun ownership that include background checks and psychological evaluations. Authorities, however, continue to face challenges from the circulation of illegal firearms.
The latest incident also came less than 10 days after a high-profile school shooting in Thailand, where a student opened fire at a school on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Officials said the situation at the Zamboanga school was under control, while authorities continued their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.