Angara: Bullying, online influence in Ateneo de Zamboanga shooting unconfirmed

Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Wednesday cautioned the public against drawing conclusions from unverified reports that bullying or online influences may have played a role in the fatal shooting at a private school in Zamboanga City.

Angara said reports that the student believed to be the shooter had been bullied had yet to be established.

“The bullying aspect, we don’t know anything about that,” Angara said in an ambush interview in the city.

He also said there was no conclusive information at this point that the student had been depressed.

Angara also said reports that the student may have been influenced by people or content online had yet to be confirmed.

“It could be a factor, but we don’t know yet at this stage,” he said.

Angara said authorities should continue looking into the possible factors surrounding the incident instead of prematurely identifying a cause.

He also cautioned against concluding that a teacher was the intended target.

"It is still unclear whether the teacher was really the target," the official said.

According to Angara, the student had gone to two classrooms but did not fire in the first classroom before firing in the second.

"So it is unclear who the actual target was," he said.

Angara said possible online influences should also be examined, noting that young people may be exposed to individuals or groups online who could influence their views or behavior.

However, he stressed that such possibilities should not be treated as established facts while the investigation is ongoing.

At least two people were reported killed in the shooting: a student and the suspect, who died after turning the gun on himself.— MCG, GMA News