DILG investigates shooter's gaming, chat history in Ateneo de Zamboanga shooting

Investigators are looking into the gaming and messaging history of the young shooter in the Ateneo De Zamboanga University shooting incident on Tuesday to find out why it happened, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

According to Jun Veneracion's report on "24 Oras," footage from the actual shooting showed students terrified and crouching under their tables as gunshots could be heard in the background.

The shooter himself would livestream the incident – in first-person point-of-view akin to a video game – before taking his own life.

"We are checking his complete gaming history, his chat history, so we cannot come up with a complete answer on what…the complete forensic analysis on why this happened," Remulla told reporters in Filipino.

Two people were killed in the shooting – a Grade 10 student and the shooter himself. Authorities are still investigating how the student, who was in Grade 8, managed to sneak the guns into the school.

The police investigation showed that the shooter brought two guns into the school. One was a regular pistol, while the other had a conversion that made it look like an assault rifle.

Police found the shooter's bag, which investigators believe was used to bring in the guns. The bag contained an ammunition magazine.

An official of the Bureau of Customs in the province has been relieved as he owned one of the guns the student brought to school. He is said to be the father of the shooter.

"We'll review all the CCTV footage and the statements so that we can present what happened in this incident," said Police Lt. Col. Paul Andrew Cortez, the deputy director for operations in Zamboanga City.

In a statement, Remulla expressed his sadness over the incident.

“The shooter, however young and troubled he may have been, is himself a victim of what I believe are video games inhabited by actors who induce terror, influencing young and fallible minds,” Remulla said.

“The students, security guards, and others who were injured have no sin except being at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he added.

Remulla urged the public to set aside politics and prioritize the safety of children. He also urged gun owners to be responsible, saying that while they were afforded the privilege to keep a weapon to protect themselves, they must also practice responsibility. –Jean Mangaluz/NB, GMA News