John Unson, August 18, 2026, with good photos here

COTABATO CITY — A junior high school student killed a classmate with a pistol and, subsequently, shot himself dead after his rampage inside the campus of the Ateneo De Zamboanga University (AdZU) in Barangay Tumaga in Zamboanga City on Tuesday morning, August 18.

Local officials and investigators from the Zamboanga City Police Office told reporters after the incident that the attacker, Mohammad Abel Jalani, armed with a pistol and a short-type combat rifle, barged into a room in the fourth floor of a school building in the AdZU campus and opened fire at Grade 8 students, killing one of them, Patrick Dylan Wee, a scion of a big Chinese clan in Zamboanga City.

The gunshots that reverberated through the classrooms in the school building caused panic among students.

After his shooting Frenzy, Jalani reportedly went down to the third floor of the building and, there, shot himself with a pistol, killing himself instantly.

Radio reports said Jalani, whose patriarch is a senior official of the Bureau of Customs in Region 9, brought two firearms inside the AdZU campus, one of which he used in attacking classmates inside their classroom.

Initial reports from police teams led by Major Napoleon Velasco, chief of the Zamboanga City Police Station 7 covering Barangay Tumaga, and his subordinate, Lt. Romeo Ocampo, Jr., stated that policemen had recovered a Glock 9 millimeter pistol each from Jalani and Wee.

Wee’s close friends and relatives had told reporters that he was not a violent person, known for his being friendly and polite and that the assertion that he was armed was, for them, virtually unbelievable.

Radio reports stated that Wee is from a Chinese family that has legitimate capital-intensive businesses in Zamboanga City.

Students had told reporters that it is possible that it was Jalani who brought the pistols and the combat rifle in their campus that he used in attacking his classmates in an incident that left Wee dead and sent students running for their lives.

Witnesses said the pistol that he first used in the atrocity jammed and that it could be possible that it was the one found near Wee’s cadaver.

Isang junior high school student ang bumaril at nakapatay sa kanyang kaklase gamit ang isang pistola bago nagbaril sa sarili at namatay sa loob ng campus ng Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) sa Barangay Tumaga, Zamboanga City, nitong Martes ng umaga, Agosto 18.

Ayon sa mga lokal na opisyal at mga imbestigador ng Zamboanga City Police Office, kinilala ang suspek na si Mohammad Abel Jalani, na armado ng isang pistola at isang maikling combat rifle.

Batay sa paunang imbestigasyon, pumasok si Jalani sa isang silid-aralan sa ikaapat na palapag ng isang gusali sa loob ng campus at biglang nagpaputok sa mga Grade 8 student. Napatay sa insidente ang kanyang kaklaseng si Patrick Dylan Wee, na kabilang sa isang kilalang Chinese family sa Zamboanga City.

Nagdulot ng matinding takot at kaguluhan ang sunud-sunod na putok ng baril, dahilan upang magtakbuhan ang mga estudyante palabas ng mga silid-aralan.

Matapos ang pamamaril, bumaba umano si Jalani sa ikatlong palapag ng gusali at doon binaril ang sarili gamit ang isang pistola. Agad siyang namatay sa lugar.

Ayon sa mga ulat sa radyo, ang ama ni Jalani ay isang senior official ng Bureau of Customs sa Region 9, at nakapasok umano ang estudyante sa campus na may dalang dalawang baril.

Sa paunang ulat ng mga pulis na pinamumunuan nina Major Napoleon Velasco, hepe ng Zamboanga City Police Station 7 na may sakop sa Barangay Tumaga, at Lt. Romeo Ocampo Jr., nakarekober ang mga awtoridad ng tig-isang Glock 9mm pistol mula kina Jalani at Wee.
Gayunman, sinabi ng malalapit na kaibigan at kamag-anak ni Wee na hindi ito marahas na tao at kilala bilang magalang at palakaibigan. Anila, mahirap paniwalaan ang pahayag na armado siya sa oras ng insidente.

Kinumpirma rin sa mga ulat na si Wee ay nagmula sa isang Chinese family na nagmamay-ari ng mga lehitimong malalaking negosyo sa Zamboanga City.

Ayon sa ilang estudyanteng nakasaksi sa pangyayari, malamang na si Jalani mismo ang nagpasok ng dalawang pistola at ng combat rifle na ginamit niya sa pag-atake sa kanilang silid-aralan.

Sinabi rin ng mga testigo na ang unang pistolang ginamit ng suspek ay nag-jam, at posibleng iyon ang baril na natagpuan malapit sa bangkay ni Wee. (AUGUST 18, 2026)