Philippines bans gaming app after school shooting kills three

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MANILA — Authorities in the Philippines have temporarily blocked the online gaming app GoreBox days after a rare school shooting in the south-east Asian country killed three students and injured 20 others.

Investigators said that one of the two teenagers accused of opening fire on students at San Jose National high school in Tacloban city had regularly played the game, which allows players to use various weapons and depicts graphic violence.

GoreBox is described on Google Play as allowing gamers to “engage in brutal combat with an extensive arsenal of weapons and explosives, and witness the raw effects of realistic rag-doll physics and an intense gore system that brings dismemberment to life”.

Three students were killed and 20 others wounded after two suspects — aged 15 and 14 — allegedly fired handguns inside a classroom in Tacloban, south-east of Manila, on Monday.

"We cannot ignore possible online influences that may have contributed to this tragic incident," the country's cyber-security agency said.

"Temporarily blocking the game will allow authorities to conduct a thorough assessment into whether the platform played any role in the actions of the suspects," said Aboy Paraiso, an undersecretary at the Cybercrime Investigation and Co-ordinating Centre.

Scientific studies have not found a direct link between video games and violent behavior.

Gorebox is a first-person shooter video game that can be played as solo or online multiplayer. Launched in 2023 by F2 Games, GoreBox has more than 10m downloads on Google Play and carries an R18+ rating by the International Age Rating Coalition due to extremely violent, explicit, and unrestrictive gameplay.

Mass shootings are rare in the Philippines, though gun-related crimes are not uncommon and the most sensational cases are staples of early evening newscasts.

What was unusual this time round was that the suspects were minors.

Akbayan party-list congressman Chel Diokno called for stiffer penalties for those who allow minors access to firearms.

The worst mass shooting in recent Philippine history happened in November 2009, when a town mayor in the southern province of Maguindanao shot dead 58 people, mostly journalists, who were travelling with the convoy of a political rival.

Late on Tuesday, police filed murder charges against the 15-year-old suspect.

The 14-year-old suspect who allegedly played Gorebox is too young to be charged under Philippine law.

He appeared to have been "heavily influenced" by online content, said Allan Rae Co, spokesman of the Philippine National Police.

The boy had also been posting violent content online, he added.

Police said the 9mm pistol the 14-year-old is alleged to have fired belonged to his aunt, a policewoman who was suspended from duty after the shooting. The 15-year-old's .38 was registered to his grandfather's security agency.

According to the preliminary investigation, the suspects claimed they were bullied in school.

Before Monday's shooting at the San Jose National High School, Co said the two boys had holed themselves up in the bathroom.

"All indications point to the fact that it was planned," Co said.

A friend of the 15-year-old suspect, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, described the boy as uptight, who got into fights with his bullies because he refused to let insults pass.

"I would tell him to be the bigger person if there are misunderstandings, or say sorry if he gets into fights, but he won't listen. He won't allow anyone to offend him.

"You'll notice his hairstyle and outfits, like he's someone from the army. I think he was influenced by his grandfather to be very disciplined," the friend said. "I couldn't think that someone could do such a heinous thing."

The friend said the boy appeared to "know everything" about guns.

In response to the Tacloban shooting, Philippine senators will continue a previous investigation into the effects of violence in online platforms on children.

Sen Risa Hontiveros said platforms had become "nests for brainwashing and radicalising our youth".

"If the internet is being used to victimise children, we will not wait for the next victim before we act."

Joy Belmonte, mayor of densely populated Quezon City, said a review of security protocols was needed.

In Tacloban, "some were shocked, some were shouting, running. We need to have drills and simulations so that children will know what to do," she told reporters.

Education minister Sonny Angara said the government was "very concerned", adding: "We don't want a situation seen in the United States, where there have been concerns about copycat incidents."