EDITORIAL - Keeping guns a major responsibility  

We can’t help but pick up where we left off in an editorial a few days regarding another school shooting. This time it happened inside the premises of the Ateneo de Zamboanga last Tuesday, August 18, where two individuals were killed and nine wounded.

The shooter, a student at the school, eventually took his own life. It was later learned that he got the guns he used in the shooting, a .40 cal. firearm and a 9mm cal. firearm, from his father who was an active policeman assigned to the Bureau of Customs.

School shootings here in the Philippines are an issue that’s getting to be more common. Yes, we really can’t say with absolute certainty that these are still isolated incidents.

Finding out what sets students off on a shooting rampage is something we must look into. By all accounts, the alleged assailant was described as an honor student not likely to go shooting others. Was he just looking for fame for the wrong reasons? Is it just a case of a copycat crime?

However, we must also address the issue of easy access to guns.

One reason why school shootings proliferate in the U.S. is because of the ready availability of guns. In fact, in many states it’s easier for a minor to get a gun than beer.

However, in the Ateneo de Zamboanga case, the minor didn’t have to look far to get his hands on guns. They were just to be found in the gun bag his father had ready in his vehicle.

We don’t have to point out the obvious here; those who are entrusted with firearms as a normal course of their occupation have the responsibility to secure those guns. They shouldn’t just be left anywhere where others who aren’t qualified to handle those guns can get to them.

In this incident, the father of the assailant learns a painful lesson, although we doubt his pain exceeds those of the parents who didn’t have to lose their kids in such a senseless crime.