World news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-08-19 · by Natasha May and agencies
A student in the southern Philippines livestreamed himself shooting and killing another pupil at Ateneo de Zamboanga University before taking his own life, marking the country's second school attack in less than two months. The shooter was reportedly armed with a high-powered firearm and a .45-calibre pistol, which he managed to bring onto campus despite an ongoing investigation into how he obtained them. Philippine authorities are now trying to determine the motive behind the shooting and have ordered the preventive suspension of a customs agent who allegedly owned the guns used in the attack. The incident is the second school shooting in the Philippines this year, following a June attack at a public high school that killed three students and injured about 20 others.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A ninth-grade student in Zamboanga, Philippines, Mohammad Mael Jalani, opened fire at a high school campus on Tuesday, killing a fellow student and himself while wounding two others. The attack was livestreamed using a body-worn camera, showing the suspect firing a gun down a hallway before entering a classroom and shooting another student. Authorities confirmed that the shooter had brought two pistols into the school, one of which belonged to his father, a customs police official. This is the second fatal school shooting in the Philippines in just two months, following an attack in June that killed three high school students. The incident has raised concerns about gun violence and access to firearms in Southeast Asia, where 10.3 million firearms are estimated to be possessed by civilians in Thailand alone.
Written for “School Shooting in Philippines” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
We grieve with the families and the entire [school] community over a tragedy that should never have happened.
left emotional language, emphasis on the tragedy 'should never have happened'
-
I have directed our law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident and to determine what more must be done to prevent another family, another school and another community from suffering the same grief.
left emphasis on preventing similar tragedies in the future
Leaning score -0.70 for article 1379 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-24
A student livestreamed himself shooting and killing another pupil in a classroom in the southern Philippines before taking his own life, the second school attack in the country in less than two months.
asserted
himself → livestreame → months
The shooting took place at a school attached to Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the southern city of Zamboanga, a Catholic private institution in western Mindanao.
asserted
shooting → take → Mindanao
Zamboanga city’s mayor, Khymer Adan Olaso, told the DZMM radio station that the shooter “managed to enter carrying a high-powered firearm and a .45-calibre pistol”.
asserted
shooter → tell → firearm
The interior secretary, Victor Remulla, confirmed the ninth-grade suspect had livestreamed the attack on social media.
asserted
suspect → confirm → media
The shooter’s Facebook account has since been disabled.
asserted
account → disable → ?
In the video, which was circulated by local media, the barrel of a gun is seen moving down a hallway before it is pointed into a classroom and fired.
asserted
it → circulate → classroom
Children in school uniforms are seen screaming and rushing for an exit.
asserted
Children → see → exit
National police are now trying to “establish the motive behind the shooting, determine the ownership and source of the firearm used, and find out how it was brought inside the school campus”, the interior ministry said.
asserted
ministry → try → campus
Hours later, the Philippines’ customs department said it had ordered the “preventive suspension” of an agent who owned the guns “allegedly used by the student involved”.
uncertain
who → say → student
The customs deputy chief of staff, Noel Bendijo, told AFP that customs staff had acted on intelligence from their own officers in Zamboanga.
asserted
staff → tell → Zamboanga
“The information is that he was the father of [the alleged shooter] …
asserted
he → allege → shooter
As for the actual firearms used and how the kid was able to access them, all of those are still under investigation,” he said.
asserted
he → use → investigation
“We’ve also spoken with the party involved.
asserted
We → speak → party
He understands but of course he’s also grieving because he also lost his child.
asserted
he → understand → child
That’s a nightmare for any parent.”
asserted
That → ’ → parent
Police when asked about the customs report said only that they were still investigating.
asserted
they → ask → report
The Philippine president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, said in an online post: “We grieve with the families and the entire [school] community over a tragedy that should never have happened.
asserted
that → say → tragedy
I have directed our law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident and to determine what more must be done to prevent another family, another school and another community from suffering the same grief.”
asserted
what → direct → grief
In June at a public high school in Tacloban City, three students were killed and about 20 injured after two students opened fire on campus.
asserted
students → kill → campus
In response, the government banned an online game, Gorebox, after it was discovered that at least one of the alleged shooters regularly played it, and reopened a senate inquiry on child safety in digital spaces.
asserted
one → ban → spaces
The department of education told a separate senate committee last month that more support was needed to prevent a “copycat phenomenon”, as more incidents of violence followed the shooting, including bomb threats, stabbing and the recovery of firearms and ammunition, local media reported.
asserted
media → tell → firearms
South-east Asia is grappling with violence among secondary school students, with a 14-year-old boy in Thailand allegedly shooting his grandparents and then killing more people at his school earlier this month before turning the gun on himself.
uncertain
boy → grapple → himself
Nine people died, including the shooter, teachers and a 12-year-old girl, and more than 30 were wounded.
asserted
30 → die → shooter
