Ateneo de Zamboanga shooter’s father placed under preventive suspension.
ATENEO DE ZAMBOANGA SHOOTING – The father of the student suspect has been placed under preventive suspension by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said Tuesday that the District Commander of the Enforcement and Security Services (ESS) at the Zamboanga port has been relieved from his post. The official is the father of the suspect in the tragic shooting incident at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University junior high school campus.
Despite Lt. Lars Jalani, chief of ESS Zamboanga, reportedly having no involvement in the incident, authorities said the move was necessary to ensure an impartial and thorough investigation.
The tragic shooting incident happened on Tuesday morning, August 18, 2026, leaving two students dead and several others reportedly injured. The alleged shooter was also among those who died in the incident and was identified as a junior high school student.
One of the matters that authorities are looking into is the source and ownership of the firearms reportedly used by the student. Based on reports, authorities are investigating whether the weapons belonged to the boy’s father.
Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Olaso also said that the student allegedly managed to bring a rifle and a pistol into the school. The firearms were reportedly used when the shooter entered two classrooms.
Meanwhile, the first gunshots were heard at around 7:50 AM, and students were instructed to stay inside their classrooms and keep quiet right away. Many students were later evacuated to the school gymnasium, where they waited for their parents to pick them up.
One dead student was found inside a Grade 7 classroom on the fourth floor, while the alleged shooter was reportedly found dead in the fifth-floor hallway of the junior high school building.
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