Philippines blocks app used by school shooting suspect
The Philippines has temporarily blocked an online gaming app eagerly used by one of two students blamed for a deadly school attack to assess whether it played a role in encouraging such violence.
Three students were killed and 20 others were injured when two suspects, each aged 14 and 15, opened fire at San Jose National High School in central Tacloban city on Monday.
The Cyber Crime Investigation and Coordination Center said the decision to block Gorebox stemmed from an ongoing police investigation that showed a suspect was an avid user of the app, adding that it would allow authorities to determine “whether the platform played any role in the suspects’ actions.”
Aboy Paraiso, undersecretary from the cyber crime center, said in a statement that the decision will be implemented as of Tuesday.
“We cannot rule out possible online impacts that may have contributed to this tragic event,” Paraiso said, without specifying how long the app would be blocked.
Paraiso did not say what action might be taken if the government assessment concluded that the app was encouraging violence among users.
“Beyond this temporary ban, we are strengthening our monitoring efforts to identify online areas that may pose a risk to young users and ensure that necessary interventions are taken immediately,” Paraiso said. he said.
District police Chief Jason Capoy said the suspects told investigators they staged the attack in retaliation for bullying they were subjected to at school.
But he and other police officials said a thorough investigation would look at all possibilities, including the possible influence of online groups encouraging rebellion and violent behavior among young people.
One of the suspects received a 9 mm pistol from his aunt, a police officer, while the other suspect had a .38 caliber pistol, which he received from a security agency employee.
Police said they managed to bring the guns onto campus because of inadequate security for the school’s 1,600 students.
Stating that all of the dead and injured were students, the police added that investigators found at least 40 bullet casings at the scene.
Due to their ages, the suspects will be handed over to state social welfare officials after the investigation.
