Two students killed in Banga school shooting, Philippines

SharpPost Editorial Team | September 18, 2026

Two 14-year-old students were killed in a shooting at Banga National High School in the Philippine province of South Cotabato on the afternoon of September 18. Local officials said the suspected gunman, a 16-year-old student at the school, died by suicide after the attack. Banga Mayor Albert Palencia said eight other people were wounded, four of them critically.

The attack came 15 days after the Philippines launched nationwide school safety drills. On September 3, the Department of Education organised exercises to prepare schools for attacks and other emergencies, alongside efforts to tighten entrance security. In Banga, the mayor’s account pointed to a weapon allegedly obtained from a parent.

Palencia told a local radio station that the Grade 9 student left his classroom after lunch and opened fire in an adjacent classroom. He said the gun belonged to the student’s father, an education department employee. GMA News reported the interview. Publicly available accounts have not explained how the weapon entered the campus undetected.

South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo said the two students killed were a boy and a girl. Police secured the site and coordinated with school officials and medical responders. Injury counts differed during the day: the provincial government’s website listed six, while the mayor told Reuters that eight people were wounded.

Firearm storage has also drawn officials’ attention. Tamayo urged gun owners to keep weapons out of children’s reach, saying that a handful of guards could not be expected to monitor thousands of students. His remarks addressed both precautions at home and security at school; they did not establish individual responsibility for the attack.

The motive remains under investigation. In a statement issued that day, the provincial government said authorities were examining an online community the suspect had reportedly joined. It stressed that the group’s activities and any connection to the shooting had yet to be verified.

The Philippines has seen three high-profile fatal school shootings since June. An attack at a high school in Tacloban on June 22 killed three students and injured at least 20 people; two underage student suspects were arrested. In Zamboanga on August 18, a student killed a schoolmate before dying by suicide. The Banga attack took place exactly one month later.

Classes have been suspended across Banga. The education department said it would assist the investigation and response, and provide psychological first aid and psychosocial support to affected students, teachers and other school personnel.