Police eye grudge for bullying as motive for Tacloban school shooting
Grudge for bullying appeared to be the motive behind the Tacloban school shooting, according to the Philippine National Police.
PNP Public Information Office acting chief PCol. Allen Co said that a total of 10 victims have been affected by the shooting incident at San Jose National High School on June 22 morning. Three minors have died, while another three were wounded by gunfire. Meanwhile, four were injured in the panic as they attempted to escape.
"Initially, it appears that the motive of the crime is grudge for school bullying," he said in a press briefing on Monday.
The two suspects, alias Rod, 15, and alias Nash, 14, are also from the school where the shooting took place.
Authorities are still determining whether their targets were in the classroom the suspects entered.
Co added that one of the suspects showed "red flag" behavior on social media.
"May nakita po tayong pinost na violent videos, mga pertaining to guns, video of him firing a gun," he said. "So ito ay obviously red flags"
"We're not putting blame on anybody, but if anybody was able to monitor itong mga red flags na ito, this could have been prevented."
Forty empty shells were recovered at the scene from two firearms: a 9mm Glock and a Caliber 38 Armscor.
The 9mm Glock was issued to a policewoman in Police Regional Office 8, the aunt of Nash. The said officer is under investigation and in custody.
"If proven that they were remiss in the custody and safekeeping of their firearms, they will be charged accordingly," Co said.
Meanwhile, the other gun is registered to a security agency in Cebu.
The shooting incident took place at around 9 a.m. on Monday. The two suspects allegedly fired "randomly," sending terrified students running for cover. After they were caught, the shooters were placed under police custody pending referral to the City Social Welfare and Development Office.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has since ordered an investigation into the incident.
A 2022 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report found over half of Filipino boys and 43% of girls reported being bullied "at least a few times a month"—more than double the rate of OECD countries. (with reports from AFP)