By Karen Lema and Nestor Corrales
MANILA, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Philippine authorities were trying to understand how a student whom teachers described as academically strong livestreamed carrying out a fatal shooting at his school before turning the gun on himself, as lawmakers debate measures ranging from social media curbs to tighter firearm regulations.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the student had not been seen by teachers at the school in Zamboanga City as a cause for concern, highlighting the difficulty schools and families face in identifying warning signs before such attacks.
“What makes this particularly sad is that we never imagined something like this could happen because the student had a high academic standing,” Angara said while visiting the Ateneo de Zamboanga University. “When we asked his teachers, they said he was not considered a problematic student.”
Angara said preventing school violence required more than fences, CCTV cameras, metal detectors and other security measures.
“Those are important, but it is also important for our communities, starting with school communities, to reach out to our students,” he said.
“What may seem like a small intervention to us can have a big impact on our young people.”
NEW LEGISLATION SUGGESTED
Tuesday’s shooting, which left two students dead, including the shooter, was the second such attack in the Philippines in less than two months. Two others were wounded. It has intensified debate over how to prevent school violence in a country where such incidents are rare.
Authorities said the student livestreamed the attack using a body-worn camera, renewing calls for tighter limits on minors’ access to social media.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian called for the passage of legislation that would prohibit children under 16 from using social media, arguing the rapid spread of livestream footage and graphic images risked normalising violence among young people.
Police are still trying to piece together the events leading up to the attack, including establishing a motive, conducting a forensic examination of the student’s electronic devices, and determining how he gained access to his father’s guns, including a .40-caliber pistol issued by the Bureau of Customs.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla urged lawmakers to stiffen penalties for gun owners whose weapons are accessed by minors and to revisit laws governing loose firearms.
Police corrected earlier reports and identified the shooter as a Grade 8 student. Officers said they found him dead from a gunshot wound to the head on the fifth floor of the school, lying on his back with a firearm beside him, after he moved upstairs from the fourth floor where the shooting began. Authorities said the evidence indicated he took his own life.
Claire, whose daughter is a college freshman at a separate Ateneo de Zamboanga campus and who asked that only her first name be used, said graphic images, videos, and conflicting reports spread quickly on social media and group chats, adding to parents’ anxiety and confusion.
“We have television and movie ratings. We also need to find ways of doing the same through social media and other online platforms,” she said.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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