Zamboanga City Jr. High School shooting kills 2 students, including shooter — police

Two students were killed in a school shooting incident at the Ateneo de Zamboanga High School campus in Zamboanga City on Monday morning.

Initial reports from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Zamboanga Police Regional Office 9 (PRO 9) identified the victims as Patrick Dylan Wee, a Grade 10 student, and Mohammad Mael Jalani, a Grade 9 student who was identified as the shooter and also died by suicide after the incident.

Initial investigation disclosed that Jalani brought a pistol and a rifle inside the school campus and, without apparent provocation, opened fire at students inside their classrooms.

A video posted on social media showed Jalani wearing a body camera and streaming live. He entered a classroom and targeted a seated teacher, but his gun jammed. He then went to another classroom, set his firearm and shot at students scrambling for safety after hearing the first shot. A student was shown dropping to the floor.

The report, on the other hand, noted that a crime scene investigation is currently being conducted by the Regional Forensic Unit 9 Scene of the Crime Operations (RFU9-SOCO) in coordination with Zamboanga City Police Station 6 (ZCPS 6).

The team was tasked to identify, conduct a background check and profile the suspect; determine how the weapons entered the school premises; identify the owners and legality of the firearms; and determine possible lapses by the school administration.

Earlier, PRO-9 Public Information Officer Maj. Shellamie Chang said the shooting incident happened at around 7:50 a.m. inside a classroom.

"Nakatanggap kami ng report ng isang alleged shooting incident na nangyari sa isang school dito sa Zamboanga City, isang private school, at around 7:50 a.m. today. Per initial report natin, mayroon tayong dalawang victim ng shooting. As for the status nila, hindi pa namin naco-confirm kasi, as of this time, nasa area pa yung personnel ng Police Station 7 sa Santa Maria kung saan kasi sakop nila yung school. Nandoon na rin yung ating city director and they are on top of the situation," Chang told Camp Crame reporters in a phone interview.