Knifeman kills three in Philippines school attack

Knifeman kills three in Philippines school attack
(AFP) – 4 hours ago

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — An ex-convict burst into a school in the southern Philippines and stabbed three people to death before being killed himself on Friday, a police official said. The knife-wielding man killed a teacher, a 12-year-old schoolgirl and an elderly man and wounded at least six other people in a school just outside the southern city of Zamboanga, said Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo.

"The suspect reportedly went inside the classroom, then stabbed the teacher in the chest, then stabbed two other teachers and two students," de Ocampo, the city police director, told reporters.

He then tried to enter other classrooms, stabbing more people along the way, de Ocampo said. The female teacher and one of her students were killed, along with the girl's grandfather who was visiting at the time. Two other teachers and four more students were also wounded in the attack, de Ocampo added.

As the terrified students took refuge in a bathroom local residents rushed to the scene and battered the attacker to death with large stones, de Ocampo said.