Student kills schoolmate and himself in livestreamed Philippine school attack, official says

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A high school student carrying two pistols shot to death a fellow student before killing himself Tuesday in an attack in a southern Philippine high school campus that he livestreamed using a body-worn camera, police and other officials said. It was the second fatal school shooting in the country in just two months.

Hundreds of students were evacuated after shots rang out in the high school building of the Ateneo de Zamboanga university campus in the southern port city of Zamboanga. Two other people were injured, police and city officials said.

The suspect, identified by police as grade 9 student Mohammad Mael Jalani, fired at a teacher sitting in front of a class but apparently missed. He then shot a student on the fourth floor of the building before going up one floor and killing himself, police said in an initial report.

“He entered and started indiscriminately firing, hitting a Grade 10 student at the fourth floor then subsequently went to the fifth floor and jumped from the said building and committed suicide,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla told reporters.

“He showed this on Facebook Live starting when he was climbing up the stairs but there were only snippets,” Remulla said. “We'll look into his gaming history and his chat history so we cannot come up with a complete answer why this happened until we do a complete forensic analysis.”

Zamboanga city Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso and the police said the suspect shot himself.

The high school building, where the gun attack happened, is in a secured campus, separate from a larger campus of the privately owned Catholic university, where its colleges and professional schools are located in Zamboanga.

A few hours after the shooting, police said the situation was under control. They asked parents and guardians of students to remain calm and follow the high school's advice and arrangements to pick up their children.

“Authorities are currently establishing the circumstances surrounding the incident,” national police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said. The police “will provide verified information as appropriate and appeals to the public to refrain from sharing unconfirmed reports, photos, or videos that may cause unnecessary concern.”

The national police “assure the public that the safety and well-being of the school community remain a priority. We thank the school administration, parents, guardians, and the community for their patience, cooperation and understanding as authorities continue to manage the situation,” Nartatez said.

The shooting happened despite police assurances that security in schools across the country would be strengthened after a shooting in June in which three high school students were killed and at least 20 others were wounded in central Tacloban city. Police arrested two students, ages 14 and 15, and accused them of carrying out that shooting.

Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of unlicensed firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.

Days after the school shooting in Tacloban, Philippine authorities said they temporarily blocked an online gaming app to assess whether it played a role in fostering such violence. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said its decision to indefinitely block Gorebox was prompted by an ongoing police investigation which showed that one suspect was an avid user of the app.

The shooting in the Philippines also occurred less than two weeks after a school shooting in Thailand.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul took steps to restrict guns in the Southeast Asian country after a 14-year-old boy killed his grandparents, five school staff members and a 12-year-old girl in Nonthaburi province outside Bangkok.

Thailand’s high rate of gun ownership is second only to Pakistan in Asia, and far surpasses its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Associated Press journalist Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Police and security guards secure a junior high school building on the Ateneo de Zamboanga University campus following a shooting incident in Zamboanga, southern Philippines Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

A guard secures an area at the junior high school building on the Ateneo de Zamboanga University campus following a shooting incident in Zamboanga, southern Philippines Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

Vehicles exit the Ateneo de Zamboanga University following a shooting incident in Zamboanga, southern Philippines Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo) CORRECTION: Corrects date and day

Security guards keep watch as vehicles exit the Ateneo de Zamboanga University following a shooting incident in Zamboanga, southern Philippines Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

LAMBA LEDA, Indonesia (AP) — Thousands of people remained displaced on the Indonesian island of Flores on Tuesday, three days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 68 people, injured more than 200 others and damaged thousands of homes. The disaster left many children struggling with fear and trauma.

More than 19,000 people were sheltering in tents, evacuation centers and makeshift camps after the earthquake struck off Flores early Saturday, damaging at least 4,500 homes, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. The quake injured at least 213 people and caused widespread destruction across the island, damaging 122 health facilities, 252 schools and 84 places of worship, the agency said.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and residents fled in panic as tsunami warnings were issued but later lifted. Authorities have since recorded more than 2,100 aftershocks into Tuesday, though only 70 were felt by residents.

An aftershock that struck during an interview Tuesday prompted Vincentius Rano and his wife to instinctively duck and cover their heads. Nearby, their daughter began crying, a reminder of the fear that continues to haunt many survivors.

Rano is a resident of Lamba Leda, one of the hardest-hit villages in the lush hills of East Manggarai regency, where widespread damage was reported, with at least 50 homes shattered and trees toppled over. He recalled the terrifying moment the earthquake struck Saturday just after he and his wife had woken up.

“Suddenly, we felt a tremor that kept getting stronger,” said Rano, the father of a 5-year-old girl. The couple rushed to grab their sleeping daughter, but before they could escape, part of the house came down, causing injuries to his back and shoulder.

“We didn’t have time to get outside. Everything happened so fast. The roof collapsed on us, and all I could do was shield my wife and child with my back,” Rano said, gesturing toward his flattened home, a modest house, built of timber rather than concrete.

At evacuation camps across Flores, children played under tarpaulin shelters while aid workers and volunteers provided psychosocial support alongside food and medical assistance.

“For many survivors, especially children, the psychological impact has lingered long after the shaking stopped,” said local police chief Yudhi Franata, who organized trauma-healing sessions for children displaced by the disaster in Ende regency.

In Ende's village of Lokoboko, 17 children joined police counselors for games, educational activities and group interactions designed to help them cope with fear and anxiety. Parents at evacuation centers in the village said many children were afraid to return indoors and woke up frightened whenever aftershocks rattled the island.

“Children are among the groups that need special attention after experiencing a disaster,” Franata said.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Flores experienced one of the country’s deadliest disasters in 1992, when an earthquake and an ensuing tsunami killed about 2,500 people.

A man walks past a mosque collapsed during an earthquake in Lamba Leda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Rubble is seen at the entrance of an earthquake-damaged church in Satar Punda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

A man walks past an earthquake-damaged school in Satar Punda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Rescuers evacuate a person injured in an earthquake in North Lamba Leda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Earthquake survivors stand outside their tent erected near a damaged church in Satar Punda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)