Man opens fire on Philippine campus, killing 3 people

MANILA, Philippines — A gunman opened hearth on college campus within the Philippine capital area on Sunday, killing a former city mayor and two others in a brazen assault forward of a commencement ceremony, police mentioned.

The suspect was armed with two pistols and a silencer and was captured in a automotive he commandeered attempting to flee the Ateneo de Manila College in suburban Quezon Metropolis, police mentioned. He was blocked by witnesses and authorities exterior the college gates.

The sprawling college was put beneath lockdown and the commencement ceremony on the legislation college on campus was canceled, police mentioned.

Investigators have been attempting to find out a motive for the assault, however Quezon Metropolis police chief Brig. Gen. Remus Medina mentioned the suspect, apparently a medical physician, had a long-running feud with Rosita Furigay, a former mayor of Lamitan city in southern Basilan province.

She died within the assault collectively together with her aide and a college guard. Furigay’s daughter, who was alleged to attend the commencement, was wounded and brought to a hospital, a police report mentioned.

Video of the aftermath of the capturing confirmed college students and officers in commencement robes screaming and operating away in panic within the foyer of the college constructing whereas others tended to the victims who have been sprawled on the bottom within the driveway.

Supreme Court docket Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who was alleged to be a speaker on the ceremony, was suggested to show again en path to the occasion, officers mentioned.

Newly elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised to have the assault swiftly investigated and people behind the killings dropped at justice. He’s scheduled to deal with a joint session of Congress on the Home of Representatives on Monday additionally in Quezon metropolis, the place police and different legislation enforcers had imposed a gun ban and heightened safety earlier than the capturing.

“We’re shocked and saddened by the occasions on the Ateneo commencement at this time,” Marcos Jr. mentioned. “We mourn with the bereaved, the wounded and people whose scars from this expertise will run deep.”