The number of injured in the school shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City has risen to 11, as investigators continue to piece together how two students managed to bring firearms inside the campus in a rare and deadly incident that has shocked the local community.
Police confirmed that three students were killed in the Monday morning attack, which unfolded inside the school premises in Barangay San Jose at around 9 am. Initial reports placed the injured at five, then seven, before authorities revised the figure to 11 following a full accounting of victims.
The suspects—both minors and classmates—were quickly taken into custody. They were identified by police through aliases as “Rod,” 15 years old, a Grade 9 student, and “Nash,” 14 years old, a Grade 10 student.
Authorities said the two, who are close friends, remain under police custody in accordance with juvenile justice procedures while investigators build a clearer timeline of events.
Police said the incident may have been triggered by a long-standing personal grievance linked to alleged bullying, though they stressed that this remains part of the ongoing investigation.
Officials also disclosed new details on the firearms recovered from the scene. A 9-mm pistol was traced to a relative of one suspect who is a police officer assigned to the Eastern Visayas regional office, while a .38-caliber revolver is registered to a Cebu-based security agency. Investigators are also verifying claims that the second firearm was “picked up somewhere,” according to initial interviews with the suspect.
The revelations have widened the focus of the probe to possible lapses in firearm security and access, alongside how the weapons were brought into a school with limited security coverage.
Police described a chaotic scene inside the campus, with gunshots reported in a hallway and students and teachers fleeing or locking classroom doors for safety. One classroom, reportedly left unsecured due to a broken lock, became the entry point where the attack continued.
The victims were identified as three high school students, two female and one male. Authorities have yet to release their identities pending notification of families.
Police said one suspect was arrested immediately after the incident, while the second was later located and detained during a follow-up operation near the school.
PNP leadership has expressed condolences to the victims’ families and ordered a full investigation into both the motive and the security breakdowns that allowed firearms inside the school.
Officials said the probe will also examine possible negligence in firearm storage and the circumstances that led two minors to access weapons and carry out the attack.
“This will require a full accounting of how this happened—from the motive to the movement of firearms,” a police official said, as authorities vowed to pursue accountability and preventive measures following the incident.