Two teenagers in custody after deadly shooting at Philippines school

Three pupils have been killed and another seven were injured after two young students opened fire in a high school in the central Philippines, police said.

The suspects, aged 14 and 15, were armed with one pistol each. They were later arrested.

The suspects and the victims were students of the San Jose National High School in Tacloban city, where the mid-morning shooting happened, regional police chief Brig Gen Jason Capoy said.

An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the shooting in the government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students.

Brig Gen Capoy said that the suspects, who were close friends, said in initial questioning that they were bullied in school. He did not elaborate.

They have no criminal records and it is not immediately clear where they got the pistols used in the attack. They managed to bring the guns into the campus because there was only one guard on duty at multiple entrances and exits, Brig Gen Capoy said.

“The suspects barged into two rooms because after the shooting in the first, the children scampered and the suspects apparently ran after some victims into another room,” he told reporters.

Most of the dead and wounded were female students, he said.

One of the suspects was arrested in the school after the attack but the second fled and hid in a house nearby. He was found by police who were when alerted by residents, police said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered a thorough investigation of the shooting and asked law enforcers to boost security in all schools, workplaces and public areas, communications under-secretary Claire Castro said.

“The president was saddened by this incident. Anybody, especially the parents of the victims, will feel sad and terrified,” Ms Castro said.