Two teenage boys carried out a deadly mass shooting at a high school in the central Philippines on June 22, 2026, killing three students and wounding more than 20 others with firearms that included a service weapon belonging to the aunt of one suspect, a policewoman who has been suspended from duty.
Regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said the aunt now faces possible criminal and administrative charges for failing to secure her 9mm pistol, which one suspect allegedly used during the assault. The second suspect brought a .38 caliber revolver. “
The attack had been planned weeks before. “Based on our information, as early as May 1, if I’m not mistaken,” Capoy told reporters on June 23.
Violent Gaming App Blocked After Shooter’s Online Activity
Philippine authorities temporarily blocked access to the violent online gaming app GoreBox following the assault, after investigators discovered the 14-year-old suspect had regularly played the graphic game. The app has more than 10 million downloads on Google Play and carries an R18+ rating by the International Age Rating Coalition.
The country’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center announced the suspension to assess whether the game, which depicts extreme violence and allows players to use weapons, played any role in the suspects’ actions. Philippine National Police spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co confirmed the 14-year-old had been posting violent content online.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros announced that the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality will open hearings on July 1 into the shooting, focusing on the role of online platforms and gaming applications in radicalizing minors into violence.
Victims and Campus Terror
The three students killed were ages 16 and 17. Most of the victims were female students. Two critically wounded students include Joan Vinias, a Grade 10 student shot in the head, and Nathan Candelario, a Grade 9 student shot in the intestines. At least 15 victims suffered gunshot wounds.
The June 22 attack unfolded across multiple locations on campus. The pair forced their way into two separate classrooms, chasing down students who had fled after the initial shots were fired in the first room. Police collected at least 40 shell casings from the scene.
Video footage that spread online showed the terror inside one locked classroom, where students hid under desks, weeping and screaming as gunfire echoed through the hallway. Some could be heard calling their mothers. Other videos captured waves of frightened students rushing out of the campus gates, many clutching one another as they escaped.
Security Failures and Legal Proceedings
Capoy said only a single guard was posted to cover multiple entrances at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, allowing the students to enter undetected with firearms. The campus enrolls more than 1,500 students.
Police filed murder charges against the 15-year-old suspect late on June 23. The younger suspect cannot face prosecution because a 2006 Philippine law exempts children 15 and under from criminal liability. Both teens have been transferred to the custody of the Tacloban City Social Welfare and Development Office under the country’s juvenile justice law.
One suspect was captured on school grounds immediately after the shooting. The other ran from the campus and hid in a nearby residence, where he was located after residents tipped off authorities. One was a student at the school, while the other was an outsider, and both had no prior criminal records.
Akbayan party-list congressman Chel Diokno called for stiffer penalties for those who allow minors access to firearms.
Bullying Claims Under Investigation
Capoy said, “The suspects, who were close friends, said in initial questioning that they were bullied in school,” though he declined to elaborate on the specifics of those claims. Investigators have not yet confirmed whether any formal complaints about bullying were ever filed at San Jose National High School before the shooting took place.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a comprehensive investigation into the shooting and directed law enforcement agencies to strengthen security measures at schools, workplaces, and other public spaces across the country. Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the president was deeply affected by the news, adding that “anybody, especially the parents of the victims, will feel sad and terrified.”
While gun violence tied to unlicensed firearms remains a persistent problem in the Philippines, deadly school shootings are comparatively uncommon. The last major incident drew national attention in 2022, when a gunman opened fire at an upscale Manila-area university ahead of a graduation ceremony, killing a former Philippine city mayor and two other people.
Authorities announced June 25 that they had foiled a potential copycat attack at Tolosa National High School, also in Leyte province, after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla received a tip from Sen. Paolo “Bam” Aquino about a 14-year-old girl who had posted online threats of a mass shooting or stabbing against fellow students. Remulla said the suspect was also an avid GoreBox player. Police confirmed she had no access to firearms, and the threat was declared neutralized after investigators engaged with her and her family.
The June 22 attack in Tacloban City has reignited urgent questions about campus security, the accessibility of firearms, and how schools identify and respond to students experiencing bullying, before violence erupts.