Senior High student shoots teacher dead

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — After being given a failing grade in a major exam, a senior high school student shot his teacher dead inside a trade school in Balabagan, Lanao del Sur last week.

The suspect, identified only as Kaizer, was turned over to authorities by his relatives and brother, a police officer, on Sunday.

Col. Caesar Cabuhat, Lanao del Sur police chief, said Kaizer admitted to shooting teacher Danilo Barba, 34, inside the Balabagan Trade School campus in Barangay Narra.

Cabuhat cited Kaizer as saying he was angry at Barba for the failing grade.

Police investigation showed Barba was inside the campus when Kaizer accosted and shot him with a caliber .45 pistol at 8 a.m. on Aug. 4.

Barba died instantly. Kaizer escaped and hid with relatives in nearby Marogong town. His policeman brother convinced him to surrender to authorities the following day.

A charge for murder was filed against Kaizer, who is under the custody of the local government for being a minor.

Police and the military have deployed personnel to ensure security at the school.

Student fights for life

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old student who was shot by her former boyfriend in a classroom at Santa Rosa Integrated School in Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija remains in “unstable condition” at the surgical intensive care unit of the Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center.

Her ex-lover, who shot himself after the incident, succumbed earlier to a bullet wound in the head.

Dr. Allan Von Casallo, the hospital’s neurosurgeon consultant, said a surgical operation on the girl or a transfer to another hospital is not recommended because of the high risk of cardiopulmonary arrest.

Santa Rosa police chief Maj. Williard Dulnuan said investigators are tracing the ownership of the caliber .22 pistol used by the teenage suspect. — Ric Sapnu