Prior to unleashing a deadly attack inside Banga National High School, a 16-year-old student explicitly warned his classmates to leave the area, revealing details about a plan that peers brush off as a joke, according to Banga Town Mayor Albert Palencia.
The teenager, a Grade 9 student who officials noted appeared to be suffering from mental health issues, issued the ominous heads-up shortly before the Friday afternoon violence unfolded.
“May isang estudyante na nagsabi sa mga kaibigan niya na after lunch dapat mag-uwi na kayo kasi meron akong gagawin after lunch, baka madamay pa kayo,” Palencia disclosed during a radio interview, describing how the shooter warned his friends to head home after lunch to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Believing the statement was merely a prank, the student’s classmates laughed off the comment. However, shortly after lunch, the suspect carried out the shooting.
“Pero nung kanina after lunch, namaril na yung shooter. Bale ‘yung natamaan 10 tapos, after na mag-change magazine, kasi dalawa ang magazines na dala niya, binaril niya din ‘yung ulo niya,” Palencia explained. He clarified the casualty count, stating, “Bale ‘yung nasawi kanina lahat-lahat tatlo tapos walo ‘yung sugatan.”
According to the mayor, the gunman left his own classroom and targeted Grade 9 students in a neighboring section. “Grade 9 student ‘yung bata tapos lumabas siya ng classroom niya at namaril siya sa kabilang kwarto. ‘Yung hindi sa classmates niya, sa ibang room,” Palencia noted. The two other deceased victims were 14-year-old students, while the eight injured ranged in age from 14 to 17.
Investigators determined the shooter used a 9 mm pistol belonging to his father, a Department of Education employee stationed in General Santos City who reportedly teaches safety protocols. “Yung baril tinago sa vault. Sinira ng bata ‘yung vault at dinala ‘yung baril sa eskwelahan,” the mayor said, revealing that the teen broke into a locked home vault to steal the firearm.
Concerns over the student’s mental state had surfaced prior to the attack. Palencia recounted conversations between school officials and the boy’s mother, “kakwentuhan namin kanina ng school adviser niya, sabi ng mama niya, kasi absent siya kahapon, sabi ng mama niya, ’yung bata ipa-psychiatric niya kasi medyo may something wrong sa kanyang isip.”
Law enforcement agencies discovered the shooter was affiliated with an online network known as the True Crimes Community, a group linked to promoting school violence. Indications suggest the youth may have hinted at his intentions a day earlier; a local resident reported that their child resisted attending school after hearing the shooter mention an upcoming action.
Described as intelligent, tall, handsome, and an active taekwondo practitioner, the shooter had shown no previous signs of being bullied. However, local authorities point to potential academic pressure as a contributing stressor.
“Pero, yung report sa akin ng pinsan niya kanina, meron siyang grade kahapon na lumabas na 76. Parang na-depress siguro yung bata na matalino. Bakit may grade siya na 76, parang ganun, siguro isa din sa dahilan yun,” Palencia added, suggesting distress over a failing grade may have fueled the tragic outcome.