Deadly shooting at university graduation in Philippines

At least three people, including a former Philippine town mayor, have been killed and others wounded in a brazen attack by a gunman in a university campus in the capital region.

The gunman, who was armed with two pistols, was captured after the shooting near the gate of the Ateneo de Manila University in suburban Quezon city on Sunday. 

The university was put under lockdown and the graduation rite at a law school was canceled, police said.

Officials said those killed in the attack were Rosita Furigay, a former mayor of Lamitan town in southern Basilan province, her aide and a university guard.

Furigay’s daughter, who was supposed to attend the graduation ceremony, was wounded and taken to a hospital, a police report said, adding she was in a "stable condition."

Investigation underway

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who was supposed to be a speaker at the ceremony, was en route to the university when the attack happened and was advised to turn back, officials said.

Quezon city Mayor Joy Belmonte condemned the attack. “This kind of incident has no place in our society and must be condemned to the highest level,” she said in a statement.

Investigators were trying to determine a motive for the attack.

School and university shootings are rare in the Philippines despite its lax gun rules. But targeted killings of politicians are fairly common, particularly during elections.

The shooting happened despite heavy security and a gun ban imposed by police and other government forces in Quezon city.

Newly elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is to deliver his first state of the nation address in the city on Monday before a joint session of Congress at the House of Representatives.

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