Students who fought off Banga school shooter: ‘I’ll do it again’

BANGA, SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines — A 14-year-old student of Banga National High School (BNHS), who has been hailed a hero for fighting off the shooter during last Friday’s school attack, said he would do the same thing if confronted with a similar situation in the future.

Instead of running for safety, the Grade 9 student, identified only as “Roy,” confronted the shooter, a fellow student, and helped his classmates escape during the shooting at BNHS, which left three students dead, including the shooter, and six others wounded, including Roy himself.

Roy recalled that the gunman suddenly fired several shots and tried to enter their classroom, but he kicked him and closed the door.

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Unable to get inside the classroom, the shooter fired through the window, hitting Roy in the hand. Despite his injury, he continued resisting the suspect for the safety of his classmates, who managed to escape from the classroom by breaking a back window.

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“If it happens again, I wouldn’t think twice. I would still do the same thing,” he told the INQUIRER.

READ: Police form special investigation task group on Banga shooting

South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. described Roy as a “real-life hero” for keeping the shooter at bay and saving his classmates.

“He really put his life in danger just to save his classmates,” Tamayo said, adding the boy deserves recognition for his heroic deeds.

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Roy’s mother said she was proud and grateful that her son survived the gun attack.

She described Roy as an affectionate, hardworking and independent student, often doing school projects by himself and helping his classmates.

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But as a mother, she admitted being frightened when Roy told her how he confronted the gunman. She asked why he had not thought first of himself.

Roy told her: “Ma, I had no choice. If he got inside and shot all of us, we could have died, anyway.”

She wanted Roy to undergo psychosocial therapy to help him recover and cope with trauma and before he returns to school.

Probe continues

The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Education (DepEd) have joined hands to provide the needed assistance to those affected by the deadly campus shooting, including the delivery of psychological and psychosocial services.

Brig. Gen. Alan Manibog, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) regional police director, announced on Wednesday the creation of Special Investigation Task Group (SITG)-Banga to investigate the school shooting.

SITG-Banga is formed not only to speed up the investigation but also to recommend measures to prevent similar incidents, he said.

While the SITG would focus on the BNHS shooting, Manibog said they would also pursue leads in other related threats that followed the school attack.

Manibog hinted that the gunman’s father, an employee of DepEd, could be held liable for allegedly failing to keep his firearm safely stored.

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The SITG, he said, is also looking into the responsibility of parents and guardians, particularly in monitoring their children’s online activities. —With a report from Edwin O. Fernandez