Philippines blocks GoreBox gaming app after school shooting kills three, injures 20

<p>“We cannot ignore possible online influences that may have contributed to this tragic incident,” the CICC undersecretary, Aboy Paraiso, said.</p>

<p>Temporarily blocking the game will allow authorities to assess whether the platform played any role in the actions of the suspects, he added.</p>

<p>“Beyond this temporary ban, we are reinforcing our monitoring efforts to identify online spaces that may pose risks to young users and to ensure that appropriate interventions are made immediately,” Paraiso said. “Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of Filipino children exposed to the internet.”</p>

<p>Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly because of the proliferation of unlicensed guns, but school shootings are relatively rare.</p>

<p>Philippine police told local media that initial interviews indicated the grade 9 suspects, aged 14 and 15, may have been bullied and that the alleged attack was carried out as retribution. The pair are in police custody.</p>

<p>The justice department said it was looking into the possibility the shooting was part of a trend of nihilistic violent extremism, characterised by the perpetration of extreme violence without a coherent and traditional ideological framework.</p>

<p>The Philippines’ human rights commission said it was also “alarmed by other recent reports of violence in schools, including two separate stabbing incidents at Cavite National high school and Bethel Academy of General Trias in Cavite within the past week”.</p>

<p>“These incidents underscore the urgent need to strengthen measures that prevent violence and protect learners,” the commission said in a statement.</p>

<p><em>Associated Press contributed to this report</em></p>

Guardian Sport · Jun 24

Guardian Sport · Jun 24

234 stories