Three pupils have been killed and another seven were injured after two young students opened fire at a high school in the central Philippines, police said.
The suspects, aged 14 and 15, were arrested.
The suspects and the victims were students at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban, where the mid-morning shooting happened, regional police chief Brig Gen Jason Capoy said.
An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the shooting in the government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students.
Mr Capoy said that the suspects, who were close friends, said in initial questioning that they were bullied in school. He did not elaborate.
The area was cordoned off following the shooting inside the school (Tacloban City Police Office via AP)
They have no criminal records. One of the suspects got the 9mm pistol he allegedly used in the attack from an aunt, a police officer, who was now being investigated.
They managed to bring the guns onto the campus because there was only one guard on duty at multiple entrances and exits, Mr Capoy said.
“The suspects barged into two rooms because after the shooting in the first, the children scampered and the suspects apparently ran after some victims into another room,” Mr Capoy told reporters.
Most of the dead and wounded were female students, he said. Police recovered at least 40 shell casings at the scene of the attack.
In a video posted online, students hiding under desks in a shut classroom can be heard screaming and crying as gunshots are heard outside. Other videos showed visibly terrified students streaming out of the school campus, some holding and embracing each other.
One of the suspects was arrested in the school after the attack but the second fled and hid in a house nearby. He was found by police who were alerted by residents, police said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered a thorough investigation of the shooting and asked police to boost security in all schools, workplaces and public areas.
The suspects were to be turned over to government welfare officers after the investigation since they are minors.
The 14-year-old would be exempt from criminal prosecution under a 2006 Philippine law, which sets the minimum age of 15 for a minor to be criminally liable and only if authorities determine that a suspect was clearly aware of the crime that was committed and its repercussions.
The national police have urged the public to remain calm and co-operate with authorities by providing any information that may aid the ongoing investigation.
Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of unlicensed firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.