The student who opened fire at the Banga National High School in South Cotabato on Friday is a son of a Department of Education employee and allegedly used his father’s gun in the incident, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
Three students were killed, including the gunman. Eight were injured.
The Banga school shooting is the third such incident this year.
Remulla said the father, a DepEd disaster risk reduction and mitigation officer, has three licensed firearms that were “not secured enough” and allegedly accessed by his son.
“For the third time, a legal gun was used that was not secured,” Remulla said in a press conference.
He said there are police officers stationed at the school, but the suspect apparently hid the gun on his body and he was not frisked.
He also said initial investigation revealed that the suspect was “heavily” into the deep dark web, which influenced him.
He said the suspect left several notes detailing his “depression.” He also said the student’s parents tried to help him back in April when it was discovered, but it was apparently not enough.
Remulla said he considers the children’s use of the internet to be the bigger issue because of what they could access online if they are left unsupervised, and which could influence their behavior.
He said he would meet with the Department of Information and Communications Technology “to put an end to this.”
He would also press Congress to limit children’s access to social media.
He also said another issue is that video games played by children have a feature where they could talk to other people online.
“The legislation has to be put in place to protect our children,” he said.
Remulla conveyed his condolences to the families of all those who were killed, including the gunman.